Ghost Depression
by the.ghost.writer.girl
Summary: Danny Fenton has fallen into a serious bout of depression. Can Sam pull him out of it before it's too late? If anyone has a better title, let me know and I will credit you if I like your title best! Rated T for depression.
1. Chapter 1

I fell back onto my bed, my muscles screaming in agony.

There had been literally ten ghost attacks in one night alone.

Not to count the three that had happened earlier today while I was in school.

Sam and Tucker did their best to cover for me while I slipped away to take care of the ghosts, but Lancer found that I had ditched anyway.

I have a week's worth of detention and a note for my parents in my backpack.

My dad had already finished yelling at for the night because I'd come home at almost mid-night, and my curfew is still ten.

It only pissed him off more when I told him to chill out.

Even my mom seemed kind of ticked that I would talk back to my father.

To be perfectly honest, I sort of felt guilty about it, but considering that I was so exhausted from today's events, I didn't give it much more than a passing thought.

The next morning, I crawled out of bed thankful that it was Saturday.

Sam, Tucker and I had planned on going to the mall to hang out together.

I checked the time. It was only twenty minutes later than I said I would meet them.

I called Sam's cell phone.

On the second ring, she picked up.

"Hello?" She asked.

"Hey Sam, it's me." I replied.

"Danny. Tucker, it's Danny." She said.

For a second there was silence, then Tucker's voice came on the line. "Danny? What's up?"

"Nothing. Guys, chill out, I'm fine. I just wanted to know if we were still up for the mall." I said, fidgeting with something on my dresser.

"Wait...you're ok?" It was Sam's voice this time.

"Yeah," I responded. "Why?"

"Uhh..." Tucker stammered.

I sighed angrily. "Look, either spit it out or I'm getting off."

"You should come over to Sam's house. There's something we should tell you. It's about the ghost zone." He said.

Giving a growl of anger, I said I'd meet them there and I hung up the phone.

I had just descended the stairs and I was pulling my shoes on when Jazz walked into the living room.

"Where are you going?" She asked.

I dropped my voice to a whisper. "Tucker says he found something to do with the ghost zone. Cover for me?"

She ran a hand through her hair, then nodded. "Ok, but you have to go now."

"Thanks. I owe you one, Jazz." I replied and opened up the front door just as I heard my dad call my name.

I changed to ghost behind our trash can, then I flew through the air toward Sam's house.

On the way to her house, I started thinking about what could possibly be wrong this time.

Nothing immediately came to my mind, so I guess I would just have to wait till I got there.

Right as Sam's house came into view, the box ghost popped up out of nowhere and scared the crap out of me.

Within a matter of minutes, I had him contained in the Fenton Thermos and was back on my way to Sam's house.

I landed on Sam's balcony window and knocked twice, paused for three seconds, then knocked twice more.

Our signature knock. Not that Tucker needed to know that.

I had been coming to her house in the middle of the night when I couldn't sleep.

Lately I'd been having these awful nightmares and Sam would always calm me down.

Not that Tucker needed to know that.

The thing about my nightmares was that I had the distinct feeling that they weren't just nightmares.

I had the scary feeling that most of what I was seeing in my dreams was real.

Anyway, Sam opened the door and pulled me inside.

I changed back to human. "What's going on?"

Tucker stood up from her computer chair. "Come take a look at this."

I crossed the room and stood beside Tucker.

He sat back down in the chair and used the mouse to point out something on the screen.

"This is our old map of the ghost zone." Tucker said, then used his mouse to click over to a new window.

"And this is the new map of the ghost zone that we created a few days ago." He said.

I nodded, remembering our trip into the ghost zone together.

The image loaded, and I noticed an area that was red.

I immediately pointed to it. "What does that mean?"

"That indicates a threat to our world. I did some digging and I zoomed in on that area as much as I can. It seems that there's been a make-shift hole busted out in the center of the ghost zone."

I squinted at the screen. "What does that mean for us?"

"It means, that's the reason all the ghosts are getting out." Sam interjected. "There's a hole in the ghost zone, that can't be blocked the way that the Fenton portal can be."

I ran a hand through my hair. It immediately flopped back into my eyes.

"Can I take a look at this?" I asked Tucker.

He stood up. "Yeah."

I took his place and brought the image up to full size.

A small, grainy version of Skulker was half-in, half-out of the new hole in the ghost zone.

I groaned. "How am I supposed to close this?"

"I don't know, we just thought that you should know." Tucker said.

"Well it isn't really my problem." I said, feeling my anger returning.

"What?" Sam asked.

I turned around in her chair. "I know that you guys view me as some sort of hero, but I don't know if I can fix this. And frankly, that doesn't really bother me. Ghosts get in and out of the ghost zone all the time. And besides, the hole doesn't even lead to Amity Park. Why should I be concerned?"

"Umm...maybe because most of the ghosts are there because you sent them back there? And when they get back out they're going to kick your ghost butt?" Tucker said.

I swallowed. "Maybe. But for right now, they're not coming after me. So I'm not concerned."

I stood up from her chair and stretched. "Are we still going to the mall?"

They both just stared at me.

"What?" I demanded.

"Aren't we going to at least _try _to fix this?" Sam asked.

I shrugged. "We could. Or we could go see Zombies 4. It's playing in the theater downtown."

Sam rolled her eyes. "Danny, be serious. Please. You know that we can't leave the ghost zone like that."

I groaned. "I seriously don't see how this is my problem."

"You're Danny Phantom! That's how it's your problem!" Sam yelled.

I shook my head. "That's not only who I am. I'm also Danny Fenton, just human. So how come it's still my responsibility? There are other human's around here too."

Sam squinted her eyes. "What's going on with you?"

"What? What do you mean?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"That's not the Danny Fenton _or _Phantom I know. What's going on?" She asked again.

I shrugged. "Maybe I just don't care about solving everyone else's problems. Maybe I just want to be selfish for once."

"Man, I've gotta agree with Sam. This isn't like you." He said.

"Guys, I'm fourteen. Every other fourteen-year-old gets to be a little selfish now and then." I argued.

"Yeah, but every other fourteen-year-old isn't half-ghost." Tucker responded.

My anger flared. "You know what? Fine. I'll fix the stupid ghost zone. Meet me at my house at eight."

I put just enough menace in my voice to let them know that the subject was dropped.

Tucker and Sam looked at each other for a second.

"Do you wanna watch a movie?" Sam asked.

"No. I don't." I said, my anger still raging inside me. "I've gotta get out of here."

I changed into ghost form and I flew out of Sam's window and into the sky.


	2. Chapter 2

Sam and Tucker were on my doorstep at eight, just like they'd said they'd be.

Sighing, I opened the door wide enough for them to enter.

"Danny, we didn't mean-"

"Save it, Sam." I snapped.

She seemed taken aback.

"Are you guys coming?" I asked, heading for the basement.

They followed me down the stairs.

Unfortunately, my parents were there.

"Hey mom, dad." I said.

My dad raised his head enough to glare at me.

"Still mad?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"Young man, you'd better watch your tone." My mom warned.

I sighed and I went for what I knew would send them packing.

"I just came down here to tell you guys that I saw a ghost outside, flying down the street." I lied.

"What?" My dad yelled, excitedly.

As I figured, that two of them grabbed their newest invention and raced out of the basement, leaving me and my friends alone.

I changed into ghost and grabbed a pair of Fenton phones for Tucker and Sam.

"Here." I said, handing them the phones.

I grabbed a pair for myself.

"So what's the plan?" Tucker asked, shoving his Fenton phones into his ears.

"There is no plan, Tucker." I replied. "I'm flying by the seat of my pants."

They looked at each other.

"This shouldn't come as such a surprise guys. After all you sprang it on me this morning." I said.

Silence fell between the three of us.

I turned my back to them and floated over to the Fenton Portal.

I smacked the open button with my fist and sighed.

Turning back around, I stretched my arms.

"You guys should probably get into the Spector Speeder." I said.

"Danny?" Sam asked.

"What?"

"Are you sure you're ok?" She asked, her face showing nothing but concern.

I knew that it wasn't kind, but I decided to freak the both of them out.

"When did I say I was? Now let's go." I replied.

Without a second thought or glance, I plunged head first through the ghost portal and into the Ghost Zone.

I waited until the Spector Speeder cam in behind me before I started heading for the hole.

"Just tell me where to turn." I instructed.

"Turn right." He said.

I followed his instructions.

"How close are we?" Sam whispered to Tucker.

I ignored them and tried to avoid the other ghosts flying around.

I didn't know all of the ghosts in the ghost zone, but the ones I did were giving me death glares.

I was still too angry to be scared.

"Keep going straight." He said.

"No duh." I replied sarcastically.

Tucker and Sam fell silent.

I felt a twinge of guilt but I did my best to ignore it.

They'd never know what it was like to be half-ghost.

They'd never know what it was like to be me.

I carried the weight of the world on my shoulders. If ghosts invaded, who was expected to take care of the problem?

Me.

Sam and Tucker didn't get that. They didn't understand the kind of pressure I was under.

"Turn left. We're almost there." It was Sam's voice this time.

"Ok." I replied softly.

I actually saw the hole before Tucker and Sam did.

"Danny?" Tucker asked.

"I see it." I replied.

"No, I have a question." He said. "How are you planning on fixing this hole?"

"I don't have a clue, Tucker. It was your bright idea to come in here." I snapped.

"Look, just because you don't have a plan-"

"Why don't you come up with one?" I snarled, whirling around.

I could feel my fists tightening up, a tell-tale sign of an energy beam forming.

Tucker swallowed. "N-never mind. You'll think of something."

I turned back around, feeling angrier by the second.

With a grunt, I let out the energy blast.

I destroyed a bag of toys, not really caring what I broke.

"Danny, calm down." Sam said.

I ripped the Fenton phones from my ears, breathing heavily.

I didn't get it. Why was I getting angrier? It wasn't like my friends or my family were purposely trying to piss me off.

Why couldn't I just be normal, for once?

Turning around, I could see that Sam was still talking to me.

I put a hand behind my ear, mocking her.

Sam crossed her arms and Tucker glared at me.

I continued on toward the hole, sliding the Fenton phones into my ears.

"-give him the right." Tucker said, sighing.

"I know." Sam replied.

"You gotta admit though, it is his fault." Tucker said.

Oh, so he thought this hole was my fault did he?

Fine. He could believe whatever he wanted.

I didn't need to prove anything. The Spector Speeder was idling behind me.

"Stay here." I told them, and ventured out closer to the hole.

I stared at the hole, then slowly put my arm through it.

I'd heard tales of a portal that would suck you through if you got too close to it.

Ever since then, I've tried to be careful around portals I didn't recognize.

It took a few seconds, but a burning sensation tore through my arm.

"Whoa!" I exclaimed, yanking my arm back.

"Danny, are you ok?" Sam asked, her voice sounding panicked.

I swallowed.

"I think so…" I replied, thunderstruck.

I examined my arm for any signs of damage.

"I don't know how ghosts are getting through there." I said turning around to face them. "It burned my arm when I stuck it through."

"Are you all right?" Tucker asked.

I was still pretty ticked at him for saying that this was my fault. If he really thought that, the least he could do was say it to my face.

"Yeah." I replied and turned back to study the hole.

The edges kept trying to join back together again, but something was keeping it open.

Some sort of magic.

"This hole was made on purpose." I said. "But there's not a portal on the other side."

"What do you think is on the other end?" Sam asked.

"I'm not sure." I replied, scratching my head. "I don't know what I can do, guys."

They didn't respond.

"Guys, I don't know if I can fix this." I said, turning around to examine the hole.

"And why would you ever want to?" Someone behind me said.

I turned around to face Skulker.


	3. Chapter 3

"What do you think you're doing?" He demanded.

"Let's see. Trying to close this hole, and taking out my anger on you." I said, giving him a sneer.

Skulker laughed.

"You think you can beat me, Ghost Child? You have another thing coming." He replied.

I threw an energy blast at him, but he quickly deflected.

He shot something at me, and I tried to go intangible, but I didn't do it fast enough.

Whatever he shot, cut my arm.

"Haven't you gotten better at anything?" He asked.

I didn't respond.

"Apparently you've gotten better at keeping your mouth shut." He yelled and threw another blast at me.

I dodged it, and sent one of my own.

He tried to dodge it but it grazed his shoulder.

Skulker let out a grunt and glared at me.

"Do your parents know that they're harboring a ghost?" He asked.

I stopped. "Where did you hear that?"

"Word gets around, kid."

I deflected his blast. "No, seriously. Where'd you hear that?"

He shrugged. "It's been said before that you were raised by anti-ghost parents. It's kind of ironic that someone who hates ghost so much could be harboring one in their own house." He gave a grin.

I narrowed my eyes. "At the moment, no. They don't have a clue."

"Ah, but your sister does. You know, if a ghost were to ever overshadow her, your parents would know in an instant." Skulker laughed.

I grimaced. "Yeah, they would. But what are the odds that they wouldn't be able to tell that she was being overshadowed?"

"Their own son is a ghost hybrid, and they don't even know it. If you ask me, your parents are pretty thick." He replied.

I hurled another blast at him,that got him in the chin.

He must have been seeing stars because it took him a second to recover.

In that split second, I was able to shield myself from his response.

"You made a horrible mistake, Ghost Child." He snarled.

"Yeah, so did your mom. It's called that face." I said.

He hurled something at me that sent me spinning backward, almost through the hole.

My leg dangled through the hole, causing a burning pain.

I gave a cry of agony, and I shrank away from the hole.

Skulker glanced from me to the hole. "You can't go through."

"What?" I asked.

He laughed. "Oh this is too good. You can't go through."

"What are you talking about?" I snapped.

"When this portal was created, it was made so humans couldn't go through. I almost forgot that you're half-human."

"Did you create this hole?" I asked.

He shook his head. "I wish I did. Seeing you writhe in pain is more fun than I thought."

I growled and headed for him.

He gave a grin and shoved me backward and into the hole.

I felt like I'd stepped into the middle of a fire, it burned so badly.

Screaming in agony, I hurled myself forward and checked my body for signs of flames.

Skulker laughed. "Wow. A ghost who wouldn't survive in the Ghost Zone. Now that's unheard of."

I snarled at him and threw a blast his way.

After a second, I moved away from the hole, so if he wanted to shove me through there, he was going to have to work for it.

"Well this has been fun, but I have things to take care of." He grinned and dove through the hole.

I almost went after him, but I remembered the pain and that was enough to stop me.

"Danny, are you ok?" Sam asked.

I shook my head. "No. I have no idea how to close this portal, and apparently my misery is entertainment to the other ghosts."

"Danny, relax." Tucker said. "We'll just go back to your house and work out a plan to close the hole."

"Sure. Let's go home. Back to where my mistakes are apparently hilarious too." I said.

"Dude, chill out." He said.

"Fine, whatever. I'll meet you guys back there." I replied.

I took off further into the Ghost Zone, wanting to get away from it all.

"Danny!" Sam called.

"I don't want to talk." I removed the Fenton phones from my ears and let them drift into the air.

I forgot that human objects floated in the ghost zone.

After a second of watching them hover, I took off flying and diving, headed anywhere but back to my house.

After a few short minutes, I was at the portal that led to Vlad's house.

Maybe I could mess things up in his house.

I dove through the portal and was met with Vlad Plasimus.

"What are you doing here?" He demanded.

"Looking for a fight." I said. "You up for one?"

"Let me guess, Daniel. You're feeling angry because your enemies keep beating you. So why not use me as your personal punching bag?" He asked, grinning.

I'd knock that grin off his face.

Unfortunately, I never got the chance, because ropes sprang up from the floor and tied me down.

"Groaning won't set you free, Daniel. So cut it out." He said.

"Let me guess, Vlad. This is all part of your master plan to somehow one up my dad?" I demanded.

He laughed. "No child. I one upped your dad back in college. And again when I became a millionaire."

His eyes narrowed. "And again when I saw the way that Maddie looked at me. Like all she wanted to do was jump over the table and-"

"I'm going to throw up over here." I said.

He grinned. "One day, Maddie will be my wife. And you'll be my son. Wouldn't that be perfect?"

"Yeah, for this new reality show. It's called Dysfunctional families." I tugged on the ropes. "Starring the father and son who want to kill each other."

He laughed. "You're quick, Daniel."

I struggled against the ropes and tried to go intangible.

"Why can't I phase through these?" I demanded.

"But apparently not quick enough. You think I'm not smart enough to create things that my enemies cannot get out of? Of course I have ropes that will bind any ghost or human."

I tried again and again to phase through the ropes.

Vlad had a sick grin on his face. "Trying is futile, boy. I suggest you stop."

I don't know where I harnessed the power but I spread ice from my hands that climbed onto the rope.

They shattered into little pieces.

Vlad looked dumbstruck. "How-"

I cut his words off with an energy blast.

It hit him square in the face, knocking him backwards.

After he struggled for a second, he sent something sharp my way that embedded itself in my arm.

I gritted my teeth against the pain and I yanked it from my arm.

I dropped it onto the ground and it clattered against me.

He laughed again and sent something else my way.

I dodged it effortlessly and it flew past me and into the Ghost Zone.

"What would my mom say if she knew you were fighting her son?" I grinned.

He let out a loud snarl and punched me in the face.

I staggered backward.

A ghost usually relies on his abilities in order to defeat his opponent.

He gave another laugh. "You really haven't gotten better, have you?'

I threw a punch of my own, but he grabbed my wrist, stopping me from reaching him.

With his other hand, he reached up and grabbed my throat.

I swung my legs and kicked him in the chest.

He released me but continued to glare.

I flew into the ghost zone, my anger settling back down.

After a few moments of hovering, I realized he wasn't going to follow me.

Not that he needed to. He knew exactly where I lived.

It wasn't that hard for him to track me down.

With that thought in my mind, I raced through the ghost zone and headed home.


	4. Chapter 4

I landed inside my own basement and breathed a sigh of relief.

What was I thinking picking a fight with a half-ghost who had twenty years of experience under his belt?

Obviously, I wasn't.

"Danny!" Sam exclaimed, rushing toward me.

I phased back to human.

"We got worried when you didn't follow us back in." She said. "Where were you?"

"I paid Vlad a visit." I said rubbing my arm where whatever it was had embedded itself.

"What?" Tucker asked. "Why would you do that."

"Oh, because I love getting my butt kicked." I replied, narrowing my eyes. "Sort of like hanging out with you."

He squinted. "Ok, what are you getting at?"

I cracked my knuckles and released my breath. "Nothing, never mind."

"No, seriously. You've been pissed with me ever since we entered the Ghost Zone. What's got you so tweaked?" He asked.

I felt the anger building in my chest. "I heard your conversation with Sam."

"What conversation?" He asked.

"The one you guys were having when I took out the Fenton phones." I replied.

I narrowed my eyes again. "You know, the one where you said that this hole in the Ghost Zone was all my fault. Ring any bells yet?"

Tucker's eyes widened.

"Yeah. Didn't know that I heard that, huh?" I asked, turning my back to him.

"Danny, we weren't talking about the Ghost Zone when we said it was your fault." He replied.

"Whatever." I said.

"No, seriously, Danny. We weren't." Sam interjected.

I turned around to look at her.

She seemed sincere.

"Really? Then enlighten me, what were you guys talking about?"

They seemed uncomfortable again.

"I knew you were lying to me." I said.

"Look Danny, we're not lying." Sam sighed.

"We just don't think you're going to like the truth." Tucker said.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Because we think you need help." Sam said.

I blinked.

Ok, that was the farthest thing from what I thought they were going to say.

"Help? What do you mean help?" I scratched my head. "Oh with ghost-fighting? Yeah, I suppose I could brush up on my abilities."

Sam shook her head.

"Not with that." Tucker said. "With everything else. With your life, man."

"Wait a second, what are you guys talking about?"

I had the strangest feeling that I wasn't going to like what came out of their mouths.

They looked at each other, and sighed simultaneously.

"We want you to see somebody. Like a therapist." Sam said.

"What?" I demanded, then gave a laugh. "You guys can't be serious."

They stared at me.

"You guys aren't serious." I said, almost challenging them.

"We're dead serious, Danny. You've just been so angry lately." She said.

I held up my hands. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. First of all, it's normal for every teenage boy to have some angry problems. If they don't, they're not human."

Tucker opened his mouth but I cut him off.

"No, that's not an invitation for ghost related humor." I said.

His shoulder's dropped. "You gotta admit, you walked right into that one."

"And second of all," I continued. "If you guys were talking about me seeing a shrink, why did you say it was my fault?"

Sam held up her hands. "Tucker's words. Not mine."

I looked at him.

"I didn't exactly say it was your fault." He defended himself.

"Your exact words were: 'You gotta admit though, it is his fault." I replied, surprised I remembered his exact words.

"Ok, so maybe I did say it was your fault." He sighed. "What I meant was, that we've tried to talk to you before about seeing someone. Sam and I were worried a while ago if you were going to snap. Remember when Spectra came to our school?"

I nodded.

"We didn't know that she was a ghost, and we thought you were actually losing it." He continued. "That's when we first started talking about you seeing a therapist."

"Wait a second. This has been an ongoing conversation? Since when have you guys talked about this without me being there?" I asked.

"Uh...while you're busy fighting ghosts." Sam said in her best 'duh' voice.

I threw an ugly glance her way and turned back to Tucker.

"So you guys have just decided that there's something wrong with me and I need to get professional help?" I demanded.

"Danny, there's nothing wrong with you." Sam said, and stood up.

She walked over to me and pulled me into a hug. "For the record, I want you to know that I think you're one of the strongest people I know."

"Yeah," I pushed her away. Physically as well as emotionally. "Sure. I'll believe that when I feel it."

"Danny, you are strong." She repeated.

I nodded. "Whatever you say."

"See, this is why." Tucker said. "This is why we think you should see someone."

I looked at him. "What?"

"Because you don't have a whole lot of self-confidence. And because you're always dumping on yourself." He said.

"Lots of other people don't have a whole lot of self-confidence, and they don't have to see a shrink." I said.

"Well lots of other people aren't under the same amount of pressure you are." He replied.

So they had been paying attention.

Guess I'd have to hide my emotions better in the future.

"Danny, we only talk this way because we care about you. And we want you to get better." She said.

I swallowed and rubbed the back of my neck. "Better how?"

"You just seem kind of sad." Tucker shrugged. "I don't know."

"Well, I'm not." I replied, dropping my hands back to my waist.

"Danny-" Sam started.

I shook my head, cutting her off. "I'm gonna do my homework."

I exited the basement and started up the stairs for my bedroom.

Tucker and Sam followed.

This wasn't exactly a conversation I wanted my parents to overhear, so I waited till we got into my bedroom.

I shut the door and turned to them. "Look, I realize that you guys are only trying to protect me and I appreciate that, but I need you to understand something."

I took a breath. "I go through these periods, where I feel down and like...I'm not really making a difference."

I leaned against my bedroom door. "They always go away within a few weeks."

They stared at me so I shrugged, and stood up off the wall.

I laid down on my bed, on my stomach while they continued to stare at me.

"We really don't want to have to drag your parents into this." Sam said.

I groaned. "So don't."

"We won't. If you get help." She argued, crossing her arms.

I jumped up from my bed, my anger flaring back up.

I was so tired of being told what to do. 'Quit complaining' 'Do your homework' 'Fix this hole in the ghost zone' 'Talk to someone'.

I yanked open my bedroom door. "Fine. If you guys will shut up, I'll talk to someone. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to do my homework."

They seemed a bit offended as I sent them on their way.

Whatever. Today was a day when I didn't have to care how mean I was to everyone.

Today was a day I'd take just for myself. I didn't get these days too often, and I was going to enjoy it.


	5. Chapter 5

I awoke with a start, remembering something about an argument I'd had with Sam and Tucker.

Well, so much for enjoying my day off. I slept through most of it.

I looked over and checked the time.

It was only five.

After a second of lying there, I sat up and looked out my window.

Right now seemed like a perfect time for a flight.

Just as I had stood up and raised my window, I heard my father call out to me.

"Daniel Fenton!" He hollered.

I groaned and shut my window with a slam.

Probably a lot harder than I should have.

I yanked open my bedroom door and walked down the stairs.

He was waiting for me in the kitchen, his arms crossed.

'Dang what pissed him off?' I wondered.

He glared at me as I walked into the room.

I leaned against the wall. "What's up?"

His mouth fell open. "What's up? What's up?"

I recognized that by repeating my own words, he was giving me a chance to change them.

I just ignored that.

"Yeah, that's what I said." I replied.

His face was almost a purple shade. "You're out all day, you come home and sleep and you've been shirking from your chores. This has been going on for several days, Danny and I want to know what's going on."

I thought about saying, 'Well, my friends seem to think I'm depressed because I don't have time to do normal things because I'm too busy being Amity Park's hero. You see, I'm half-ghost so I protect this town against real ghosts.'

But I figured he wouldn't believe me. Or try to rip me apart molecule by molecule.

I swallowed and shook my head.

After a moment, I stood up off the wall.

"You have nothing to say for yourself?" He asked.

I shook my head. "Not really."

His eyes narrowed. "Not even an apology?"

"I'm sorry." I said.

"A little late, Danny." He replied.

I shrugged.

"You have no explanation for your behavior?" He asked.

'Sure I do! I've been fighting ghost's and that's lead me to experience some fatigue. That's why I'm so tired all the time. But more than that, apparently I'm depressed. Oh, and Uncle Vlad told me, in between kicking my butt, to tell you hi.'

No, that wouldn't go over too well.

"No, I don't." I sighed, just waiting for when he'd shut up.

"Well, since you feel like you don't owe me an explanation, I don't feel like I owe you access to the computer." He said.

I nodded. "Ok."

If I really needed research done for the Ghost Zone, I'd call Tucker.

Even though I was still pretty mad with him.

His face got purple again. "How about I take away your cell phone? Do you want that to happen, mister?"

I shrugged. "Dad, whatever response you're hoping to get from me, you're not going to get it."

He blinked.

I shrugged again. "I just don't care."

He didn't say anything, so I sighed.

"Are we done here?"

"Are we-I mean, do you-how- …are we.." He sputtered.

I crossed my arms.

His mouth snapped shut and he pointed to the stairs. "Go to your room!"

Exactly where I wanted to be.

I nodded. "Ok."

He just kept staring at me.

"Oh, I mean..." I threw my arm over my eyes as I walked into the living room. "No dad, please! Don't restrict me to the confines of my bedroom! Please, not that." I said sarcastically.

He glared as I turned my back to him and ascended the stairs.

Twenty minutes later, I was studying for my biology test and a knock sounded on the door.

"Come in." I called, flipping the page.

Jazz poked her head inside.

I sighed loudly. "What do you want?"

She shut the door and sat down in my desk chair. "Danny, what's going on with you lately?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, closing my book and hoping that my friends hadn't gotten to her.

"I mean, I heard you downstairs with dad earlier. You weren't even trying to stand up for yourself. You could have told him that you were studying at the library." She gave a shrug.

"Yeah, like he'd buy that." I responded.

"Danny, come on, it's dad." She laughed.

I blinked. "Sure."

She sighed. "All I'm saying is that it didn't even seem like you were trying to stick up for yourself. It kind of seemed like all the fight had left you."

She didn't realize how close she was to the truth.

"Yeah, well, maybe it has." I replied sarcastically, giving her a sneer.

She stood up. "Maybe it hasn't, Danny. Maybe you're just being a jerk on purpose."

Jazz stalked out of my bedroom and slammed the door behind her.

I grabbed the first thing I could.

It just happened to be a fragile object.

I hurled it with all my strength at the door and it shattered into a bunch of little pieces.

After it broke, I curled up onto my bed and pushed my textbook onto the floor.

I drew my knees up to my chest and sighed heavily.

I didn't understand why I felt so miserable all the time.

In the past, if I'd felt miserable, it was usually because of some ghost or horrible monster.

But this time? The only monster here, was me.

I squeezed my eyes closed and tried to go back to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

Exactly one hour later, I was still wide awake.

I wondered if it was possible to have nightmares while you were still awake.

I just kept seeing images flashing back and forth in my head about possible scenarios.

If I were to tell my parents what I was, they'd probably be disappointed in me and then try to rip me apart molecule by molecule.

But if I didn't tell them what I was, they'd live on in oblivion and keep trying to kill me whenever they say Danny Phantom.

And I'd have no way of explaining away my absence when I needed to kick some ghost butt.

I stood up from my bed and I jerked the window opened.

To add to the illusion, I knotted a few bed sheets together and draped them out of my bedroom window.

I didn't need my parents thinking that I had run away AND that I had a broken leg.

They'd probably freak out.

Well, my mom would anyway.

I flew out of my bedroom window and decided to just fly around for a little while.

Get my mind off of things.

But luck wouldn't have that.

Lined up outside, apparently waiting for me, were three of the biggest of my enemies.

Skulker, Vlad, and the Box Ghost.

I couldn't figure out what the last ghost was doing here.

"How'd you get back out of the ghost zone?" I asked, talking to the box ghost.

"I am the box ghost! You think your cylindrical object can contain somebody of my power?" he asked.

I aimed the 'cylindrical object' at him and sucked him into it.

He screamed as he went inside.

Vlad sent me a look. "Just try it, Daniel."

Skulker lunged for me and I ducked.

"What happened with you trying to mend that hole?" He asked.

I shook my head. "Still none of your business."

He laughed. "Whatever you do business, Ghost Child."

I threw a blast at him, knocking him backward.

Vlad came up behind me and wrapped his arm around my neck.

I made a noise and pointed my finger behind my back to shoot him with a blast.

He secured my hand with his other one and leaned close to my ear.

"I told you I'd have you one, Daniel." He said.

I wrestled with him for a second. "What the heck do you want with me?"

"Well your mother would come to rescue you in an instant, and think of how good it would make me look if I were the one to bring you to her." He laughed. "And you were an annoyance the last time you came by so I figured I'd repay the favor."

"Yeah right." I used my other hand to fling him in front of me. "You've never repaid anyone in your life."

"Oh, but I could repay your father for ruining my chances with your mother." He grinned. "And I could repay him by revealing the identity of his worst enemy."

His eyes flashed as he said, "Danny Phantom."

"Please." I sent a blast his way just as Skulker neared the two of us.

He flew backwards.

Just in time for me to turn my attention to Skulker.

"Die vermin!" He yelled and a gun from his shoulder shot at me.

It didn't miss me. It hit me in the shoulder.

I let out a cry of agony and I fell to the ground, changing back to human form.

Just before I blacked out, I used the Fenton thermos to suck them both inside. Even though Vlad was half-human, a part of him was still a ghost.

And that part of him was evil.

Black spots danced in my vision and I felt my head hit the concrete.

My last thought was, 'that was going to hurt later.'

The next thing I knew, I was on my bed, my sister sitting in my desk chair.

I sat upright and a wave of dizziness hit me.

I lay back down. "What happened?"

"Mom and dad had me come up here to get you for dinner. I saw the knotted sheets out the window and I figured that you had left to do some ghost fighting." She shuddered. "Only I looked out onto the ground and I saw you lying there."

I stretched my arms over my head.

"I'm sorry." I said.

She jumped up from the chair. "Sorry? You're _sorry_?"

I sat up. "Yeah."

"You think that just makes everything better?" She demanded.

I shook my head. "I guess not."

"Danny, depression is one thing but a suicide attempt?" She sighed. "I'm going to have to bring mom and dad in on this."

Despite the dizziness, I jumped up from the bed.

"Suicide attempt? You think I was trying to kill myself?" I demanded.

"Danny, it happens. People with depression are nine times more likely to kill themselves than ordinary people." She said.

I rolled my eyes. "Jazz, I know that you and my friends are concerned but I'm completely fine."

She held up a notebook of mine that I'd buried somewhere beneath my bed.

I swallowed and felt fear creep up into my chest.

"You're fine? Do you really want to stick to that lie, Danny?" She asked.

"Give me that." I said, lunging for it.

She took a few steps backward. "No. If I need to bring our parents into this, I'm going to need proof."

I went ghost and went invisible.

I hovered over her and yanked the book from her hands.

"No." I said, and went visible again. "You know the rule about snooping in our house."

She shook her head. "Maybe. But I'm sure that our parents would be more interested in the contents of that notebook, rather than fact that I was snooping."

I swallowed.

She was right.

If I couldn't convince them that I wasn't depressed, they'd stick me in the nut house for sure.

I glared at her and went back to human.

"Fine. If you insist, I'll talk to a therapist. But I'm not making any promises."

She smiled. "I'm glad you finally see it my way, Danny. We're just concerned about you."

"Uh-huh." I said.

She made a move to hug me and I held my hand up.

"Don't touch me."

I turned my back to her and waited until I heard my door close before I sighed and sank down into my desk chair.

When did my life spiral out of control like this?


	7. Chapter 7

Five minutes later, my mom came upstairs to tell me it was dinner time.

I nodded to her. "I'll be right down."

Instead of going downstairs, she sat on the end of my bed and put a hand on my knee.

"Danny, are you ok?" She asked.

I stood up. "Yeah, I'm just thinking."

Had Jazz already said something?

Did my friends get to my parents?

Jeez, when did I get so paranoid.

"About what, sweetie?" She asked.

I shrugged. "Everything. Nothing."

"What does that mean?" She asked.

"I don't know." I crossed my arms. "I'm gonna wash up before dinner."

"Ok. I'll see you at the table." She said.

I entered the bathroom and locked the door.

I stared at my face in the mirror.

For some reason, I couldn't grasp why Tucker and Sam had said that I looked depressed.

Staring into my eyes now, I couldn't see any traces of depression.

Maybe my friends were crazy. Or maybe I couldn't see what they could see.

Sighing I ran some cold water and splashed it onto my face.

I let the water run down my face and neck before I grabbed a towel from the rack and dried my face.

Sighing, I crumpled the towel up into a ball and threw it on the floor.

After a few more seconds, I went down the stairs.

When I got to the table, Jazz smiled.

I gave her one back, just to show that I was ok, and not miserable on the inside.

"Hi, sweetie." My mom said, taking small bites of her food.

"Hi, mom." I said, glancing at my dad.

His eyes were trained at his plate, and when I looked at him, he turned his face away from me.

So he was just going to ignore me then huh?

Fine.

"So how was school yesterday, kids?" My mom asked.

I shrugged.

"I had to give a speech to the entire student body!" Jazz said, grinning.

"And I took a nap." I said, glancing at her.

She narrowed her eyes. "Nice."

"Danny, really. How was school?" My mom asked.

I shrugged again. "Same as always."

My phone rang.

"No cell phones at the table." My father said, turning toward me, and staring at me with an icy glare.

My eyes never leaving his, I slid the phone up to my ear and pressed send.

"Hello?"

"Danny." Sam's voice was on the other end. "Tucker thinks he may have found a solution to the hole in the Ghost Zone." She said.

I think my dad picked up on the words 'ghost zone' because he stared at me more curiously now.

"He does, does he?" I asked. "Why don't you guys come by in a little while?"

"Sure thing, we'll be on our way in a few minutes." Sam said.

I broke the glare that my father and I had held up.

"No. Right now's not a good time. I'll call you later." I said.

Before she could reply, I hung up.

"Who was that?" My dad asked.

"My friends." I said, glancing back down to my plate.

He banged his fist onto the table.

"I asked you who that was!" He yelled.

My head snapped up and my eyes narrowed.

I felt a familiar sensation run up my spine. "And I told you. My friends."

"Jack," My mom called.

He glanced at her for a second, then turned back to me, narrowing his eyes.

"I thought I heard you talking about the Ghost Zone." He said.

"You did." I replied.

His eyes narrowed.

I shrugged and stood up.

He slowly stood up. "Are you planning on sabotaging it?"

"Jack." My mom called again, putting her hand on his arm.

"Are you?" He asked, ignoring my mom.

"No." I replied.

"Tell the truth!" He yelled.

I took a step backward. "I am."

"Why are you suddenly so interested in ghosts?" He demanded. "You never were before."

I shrugged. "I just am."

"That's not a real answer." He said.

I shook my head.

"Give me a real answer." His voice dropped dangerously low.

"I don't have one." I said.

"Danny!" He yelled.

"Because I don't see ghosts the same way you do." I replied.

He was silent for a moment, just staring at me.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He finally asked.

My mom and Jazz had fallen silent, staring at the two of us.

I raised my head and met his eyes.

"I don't believe that all ghosts are bad." I said.

If I'd thought it was quiet before, that was nothing compared to the silence now.

My father just stared at me, his expression changing from shock, to disbelief, to disappointment.

"Danny…" Jazz said softly.

"I'll be in your room." I replied, turning my back to them.

Hurting them hadn't made the hurt in me go away at all.

I was still struggling, still miserable.

After a moment's hesitation, I ascended the stairs and entered my bedroom.

Pulling the door shut behind me, I looked around my bedroom.

I went over to my bed and picked up the notebook that Jazz had been so reluctant to return.

I opened it up and stared at the words on the page.

This book told of my descending struggle into my friends called depression.

I didn't what name to put to it. I just knew that I was miserable.

And that feeling like this wasn't normal for me.

I flipped forward a few pages and studied what I'd said.

For some reason, I was talking about an argument I'd had with Tucker and Sam.

Apparently, it was another argument about the Ghost Zone. It didn't seem to be as bad as the most recent one, but I could hardly remember the old argument.

I found my most recent page, where I talked about Tuceker telling Sam that the hole in the Ghost Zone was my fault.

Despite his best attempts to lie to me about 'what he really meant', I wasn't buying it.

I r-read over what happened between the two of us and I sighed.

Maybe I had over-reacted.

I'd been screwing up so bad lately, I didn't even know what was my fault and what wasn't.

I felt a pricking sensation in my eyes and I realized that tears were cascading down my face.

I quickly brushed them away and closed the book, shoving it to the floor. It fell on top of my text book.

I curled into a ball, my knees against my chest.

Tears continued to run out of my eyes and onto my pillow.

I quit trying to wipe them away, because more always followed.

Silently, I lay on my bed and let the tears fall until I fell asleep.


	8. Chapter 8

When I woke up, almost two hours later, I felt numb.

I went down the stairs, but my parents weren't down there.

My sister was. She was studying at the kitchen table.

She glanced up at me as I walked into the room.

"Hey."

I opened my mouth to respond, but I didn't know what to say. So I closed my mouth and I just nodded.

She continued to stare at me so I crossed the room to get a glass of water.

After I was finished drinking it, she called my name.

I turned around.

She chewed the inside of her lip. "I'm sorry."

I shrugged. "It's fine." I didn't even know what she was sorry for, I just knew that it didn't matter anymore.

Nothing did.

She gave me a smile that I was unable to return.

"Your friends called about half an hour ago. I told them to come on over."

I nodded and started for the stairs.

"Would you let them in when they get here?" I called over my shoulder.

"Yeah." She replied.

I went up the stairs and back into my bedroom.

Less than five minutes later, I heard the doorbell ring.

I looked around my room, and kicked my notebook underneath my bed.

The front door shut and I crossed my bedroom floor and went into my bathroom.

Glancing at my reflection in the mirror, I realized that it wasn't obvious that I'd been crying.

My bedroom door opened.

"Hello?" Sam called.

I stepped out of my bathroom and leaned against the doorframe. "Hey."

She smiled and closed the door behind her.

"Where's Tuck?" I asked.

She shrugged. "On his way."

I nodded and glanced at the floor.

After a second, I looked back up at her. "What's this new thing he thinks he discovered about the Ghost Zone?"

"I don't know. He said that he wanted us both here when he explained it." She said.

I nodded. "Sounds like Tucker."

She laughed. "Doesn't it?"

Her spider backpack was falling from her shoulders so she shrugged it off and let it fall onto my bed.

"Can I ask you something?" She asked.

I shrugged. "Why not?"

Sam seemed to hesitate for a moment. "Have you been having trouble remembering things?"

"What?" I asked. "I guess, why?"

She shrugged. "I don't know, just wondering."

I gave a laugh. "Weird thing to be wondering."

"Yeah, I know." She smiled.

I stood up off of the doorframe, and went over to my bed.

Placing my hands on the railing of my bed, I smiled at her. "Any other weird things you've been wondering?"

She turned toward me and tucked her legs up Indian-style onto my bed. "Yeah, actually."

I pulled my desk chair closer to the bed and sat down in it. "Ok."

"Have you had any fatigue? Or like...decreased energy?" She asked.

I shrugged. "Maybe a little. Where's this coming from?"

She hesitated again.

"Sam?" I asked.

"From a depression website." She said.

I let out a groan.

"No, Danny, just listen ok? You're fitting all of the criteria. I matched you with several other symptoms…it's just weird." She said, biting her lip.

"Yeah, it is." I snapped. "Why on earth would you suggest that I get tested for depression?"

"I didn't say that you should get tested for depression." She said, shaking her head.

"Oh, so right there, you _weren't _testing me?" I demanded.

"No, I was just trying to-"

"See if I was crazy." I said.

She stared at me.

My mouth fell open. "You were."

"No, Danny, I wasn't." She sighed. "I'm just worried about you."

She stood up. "Look, let me show you something on your computer. Please?"

"Fine." I replied, my eyes at the floor.

I couldn't believe that my best friend thought I was crazy.

After a few minutes in silence, she called my name.

"Come look at this." She said.

"What?" I asked, dragging the desk chair over to my computer.

I gave it to her to sit in and I knelt on the floor beside her.

"Thanks." She said, then moved the mouse onto the screen.

"What do you want me to look at?" I asked.

"I want you to read these signs of depression." She said.

I swallowed. "Ok."

"Difficulty concentrating, remembering details, and making decisions." I said.

"Which you have." She said.

I rolled my eyes.

"Fatigue and decreased energy." I continued.

"Again, which you have."

I gritted my teeth as I read the next one out loud. "Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, and/or helplessness..."

She glanced at me and dropped her voice down to a whisper. "Which you definitely have."

"Oh, I do not." I argued.

"Whatever you say." She said, then her eyes lit up. "Hey, here's an online depression test."

I swallowed. "Depression test?"

"Yeah, you should take it." She said, standing up from the chair.

"No." I replied. "I don't want to."

"Why not?" She asked.

"Because I'm not depressed!" I replied.

"Well...if you aren't, then you have nothing to lose." She said.

I glared at her. "Fine. If I take this test, all of this depression talk and random questions go away. Got it?"

She hesitated. "If it's negative, all the depression talk goes away."

"Fine. If it's negative."

My stomach clenched and my hands were sweating as I took her place in the chair.

I hovered the mouse button over the depression test and finally clicked 'take'.

"Can I have some privacy?" I asked, Sam.

"Why? So you can lie on this test?" She asked.

I shook my head. "No, I'd just appreciate a little privacy."

She crossed her arms. "Fine. No lying, Danny. I mean it."

Jeez, when did she get so bossy? She sounded like my sister.

I answered the questions honestly, every single one.

Even the one where it asked if I'd been having suicidal or 'unsafe' thoughts.

Honestly, I didn't really know what suicidal thoughts were until I did an internet search on it.

According to the internet, 'suicidal thoughts are thoughts about killing oneself, without the action of carrying it out. Suicidal thoughts can range from a fleeting thought to planning out a suicide attempt.'

Ok, so I had to answer that one honestly.

True.

I wasn't planning my own death out, but I had been having fleeting thoughts.

For a moment, I hovered the mouse button over the 'results' button.

I didn't know if I wanted to know.

Maybe I should just ask Sam to click it.

No. I could do this.

I swallowed hard, and clicked it.

"Your screening results indicate a high likelihood that you are suffering from severe depression."

I closed my eyes, waited a moment, then continued reading.

"Your answers also show that you may be at risk for harming yourself. You are advised to see a mental health specialist or your family doctor immediately."

Sam was never going to let this slide...


	9. Chapter 9

I swallowed and clicked 'clear' on my browser's history.

Then I closed the browser and turned to Sam.

"Yeah, it's negative." I said.

She turned around, a confused look on her face. "What?"

I shrugged. "It said it's negative. I'm not depressed."

She crossed her arms and walked over to the computer. "Let me see."

"What do you mean? I closed it." I said.

Her eyebrows rose up. "What do you mean, you closed it?"

I stood up from the chair. "Just what I said, I closed the browser."

"Convenient." She said and sat down in her chair.

I crossed my arms, and waited while she pulled up the internet.

She clicked the history button and when she realized it had been deleted, I couldn't meet her eyes.

"What is this?" She demanded.

"It automatically clears my history when the browser is closed." I said, shrugging.

It took me a minute, but I finally met her eyes.

Her eyes were narrowed. "Again, convenient."

I shrugged again. "Yeah, well."

"I know that it was positive." She said. "You would have had no reason to close the browser had it not been."

"Look, Sam." I started. "You either believe me when I say that the test was negative or you can go on pretending like you know what's going on in my life."

She flinched. "What?"

I sighed. "Never mind. Forget it."

"Danny, what are you talking about?" She asked.

I shook my head. "Forget it, I didn't mean it."

"Obviously you did." She replied.

Before I could respond, Tucker came into the room.

"Hey guys." He said, glancing between the two of us. "Is something going on?"

"Nope." I responded. "Nothing at all."

Sam glared at me, but I ignored her.

"So what did you find out about the Ghost Zone?" I asked him.

He walked over to my bed, kicking the door shut behind him.

In his arms, he was carrying some sort of map or blueprint or something.

"What's that?" I asked as he started unrolling it onto my bed.

"This is what is going to save our butts." He said.

'You mean my butt.' I thought. It wasn't really like their butts were on the line on this one.

Actually, they were never on the line, at all.

All of these ghost problems were mine.

Never theirs.

I guess I considered myself a little bitter about that.

"Go on." I said, shaking my head to clear those thoughts.

"I've drawn up some ideas on how to fix the hole and potential causes." He replied, beaming. "Lets start with the first potential cause and the solution."

I nodded and crossed my arms.

"First potential cause, a portal made by Wulf." He said.

I nodded. "That would explain the jagged edges."

Tucker nodded.

"Wait," Sam said. "Don't Wulf's portals close after he exits through them?"

"Good point." I said.

"That's what I thought." Tucker said. "Until I did some research on him. Apparently there have been hundreds of thousands of creatures like him. Long ago, they were only wolves that could transport from place to place. Not ghost wolves."

"So what happened to them?" I asked.

"Sadly, they're extinct nowadays. I'm guessing that man-kind killed them along with the witches back in the 1800's." Tucker shrugged.

"So how has Wulf survived?" Sam asked.

"He didn't. Supposedly, the legend goes, a transporting wolf, stumbled across a saint. The saint had been badly injured by some other transporting wolves. The saint begged the wolf not to kill him. Instead of leaving him there, the wolf transported him to a medical center." He paused. "The saint blessed the wolf for bringing him there and granted him eternal life as a ghost, if he were to ever die."

I nodded. "That sounds like an urban legend."

"It probably is." Tucker said.

"So get back to the hole." Sam said.

He adjusted his glasses. "Getting to that part. Back then, wolves could only transport two to three people at a time. But when the saint blessed him, it gave him the ability to manipulate the transport. So it could carry more than one person. Or stay open for however long he chose."

"Ok. If that's the problem, how do I fix it?" I asked.

"You have to find Wulf and convince him to close the portal. He remembers you rescuing him from Walker. I'm sure he'd help you out." Tucker said.

"Yeah, sure. There's just the problem of getting through the hole to begin with. Humans can't go through, remember?" I asked.

"I remember." He said. "Which is why I came up with a list of several other possibilities."

"And they are…?" I was quickly getting irritated with him.

"Second potential cause." He started. "Wulf did open that portal, but only for himself. Without his knowledge, someone else manipulated the portal into staying open."

I nodded. "How do I fix that one?"

"That solution's a little more complicated." He replied. "The only thing that could work, is to find the ghost who manipulated the portal and destroy him. If weakened, the ghost may not be able to harness his power toward keeping the portal open."

I nodded. "Ok, but how on earth would I find the ghost who manipulated the hole to begin with?"

"Yeah, that's where I've got nothing." He shrugged and pushed his glasses up. "Sorry."

"Great." I replied. "What else you got?"

"Third and final potential cause and solution." He sighed. "It's a portal opened by Vlad."

"That wouldn't explain the harsh edges, or the fact that humans can't go through." I said.

"That's what I thought." Tucker said. "But then I started thinking. Consider what Vlad knows about you. You're half-ghost and half-human. Don't you think he would create something that would hurt you?"

I remembered the ropes he'd bound me with during the short time I'd been at his mansion.

Of course he would create something that could harm me.

I shook my head. "But why would he create something that he even he couldn't go through? He's half-human too."

"Maybe he uses his other portal." He suggested.

"Or maybe he knows a way to go through the portal without harming himself in the process." Sam offered.

I pointed to her. "That's possible."

I turned back to Tucker. "Ok. Solution if he's the one who created it?"

He swallowed. "We suck it up and beg him to close the portal."

I blinked. "What?"

"Yeah," He said. "Not that great of a plan."

"How about, never going to happen?" I snarled.

"Whoa Danny, calm down. I couldn't really think of anything else. I was hoping you guys might have some other ideas on that one." He said.

"Well we don't, Tuck." I snapped. "Why don't you come up with something since our intelligence is far more inferior to yours?"

His mouth opened and closed. "Danny, I never said-"

"You didn't have to." I stalked over to my window and stared out of it.

My friends had fallen silent.

Of course. The one honest thing I say during this conversation, and apparently I piss them off.

Why didn't my friends understand what I was going through? Or maybe I was being too harsh...


	10. Chapter 10

Author's note: This chapter is dedicated to Hellbreaker, who always leaves me encouraging comments and gives me some wicked awesome ideas. Thanks for reading, Hellbreaker! :)

Sam cleared her throat, and I turned around.

She was looking at Tucker.

"Danny and I found something very interesting." She flicked her gaze toward me.

"Oh please. You have no proof." I said.

"Of what?" Tucker asked.

"That's because you deleted your online history." She retorted.

"It automatically deletes when I close my browser." I said, through gritted teeth.

"Like I said, convenient." She crossed her arms.

My eyes flashed green and I let out a low, warning growl.

She took a few steps back, shock written all over her face.

"Danny..." Tucker said.

I glanced at him, my eyes returning to normal.

"What's going on, guys?" He asked, glancing between the two of us.

"Nothing." I snapped, before Sam could say anything else.

Tucker didn't seem convinced.

"How about we go into the Ghost Zone tomorrow?" I asked. "And I can try and locate Wulf."

Neither one of them spoke, so I turned my back to them.

A couple of minutes later, there was a knock on my bedroom door.

I turned around, my arms still crossed.

Sam and Tucker glanced at the door, then back to me.

"Come in." I called.

The door swung open and Jazz gave me a smile.

"Sorry to interrupt. Can I steal you away for a minute, Danny?" She asked.

I shrugged. "Depends. What do you want me for?"

"I just need some non-human help." She replied.

I shifted. "Ok."

"I'll be right back, guys." I said, and followed Jazz down the stairs.

"What's up?" I asked.

"There's a cloth stuck inside the dishwasher." She said. "I was going to start the dishwasher, but the cloth is wrapped around the blade."

I nodded. "It won't come off?"

"No. I tried to pull it off, but I think a little bit of non-human help might be just what it needs."

"Fine." I replied and walked over to the dishwasher.

After a minute of struggling with it human wise, I realized she was right.

It did seem to need a ghost hand.

So I turned my arm intangible, then I slid it up under the cloth, turned the cloth intangible and it fell right off the blade.

After I pulled my arm out of the dishwasher, it went back to normal along with the cloth.

"Here." I said, handing the cloth to her. "If you want my advice, I'd throw that away."

"Ok." She laughed and closed the dishwasher, and started it.

I started out of the kitchen.

"Danny?" She called.

"Yeah?" I replied, turning back around.

"Is everything ok upstairs? I mean, with your friends? Because I thought I heard yelling earlier…" She trailed off.

"Yeah." I replied. "Everything's fine."

After that, I exited the kitchen and climbed the stairs.

I opened my bedroom door and I found Tucker and Sam sitting in front of my computer, with my original results on the screen in front of them.

"I knew you were lying." Sam said, turning to me.

"What did you do?" I demanded.

"Dude, why didn't you tell me this?" Tucker asked.

I walked over to my computer, and pushed them backwards away from it.

In one swift motion, I yanked the monitor from the wall.

"Why couldn't you just believe me?" I demanded, whirling around.

"Danny, please." Sam started toward me but I put up a ghost shield in between the two of us.

The kind that means nothing can get through.

"Danny, I'm sorry." She said.

"Leave!" I yelled. "Both of you!"

Tucker came closer to the shield. "We really are sorry. We just want to help."

"I said, leave!" I yelled again.

He swallowed.

When neither of them budged, I used one hand to keep the shield up and I used the other hand to send a ghost blast their way.

"Leave!" I yelled.

The blast sent them backward.

After a few more minutes of staring at me, they exited my bedroom, after gathering up their stuff.

As soon as the door shut, I dropped the shield and dropped to my knees, sobbing.

They didn't come back in, even though I was certain that they could hear me.

I was sure that I was being so loud.

When I opened my eyes, it was morning.

All that happened yesterday had really worn me out.

I was still lying on my floor where I'd fell down sobbing.

Apparently, they hadn't cared enough to come back in.

I stood up, feeling slightly dizzy.

After a second, I stumbled over to my bed and fell down on top of the covers.

My phone was on the nightstand by my bed.

I grabbed it and checked the time.

Only ten fifteen.

Technically, I could go right back to sleep…

But when I checked the time, I noticed that I missed a call, and a few text messages.

I flipped open my phone and I checked the missed call.

It was from Sam, but before I could call her back or look at the text messages, a huge rumbling sound started outside, followed by people screaming.

I jumped up from my bed without a second thought and went ghost.

After scrambling over to the window, I threw myself out of it and hovered in the air.

I heard people screaming and I flew toward the sound.

As I got closer, and closer to those people, I could see something huge moving in the distance.

A shiver ran up my spine as I wondered if it was Undergrowth.

He'd been so difficult the first time I'd had to defeat him, I didn't know if I had that strength anymore.

I continued on toward the crowd of screaming people.

There was something off about some of the people in the crowd. Most of them were running away, screaming.

But a group of about a hundred people were standing stock-still in front of a giant armored suit.

Guns were trained at the ones standing still.

I dove in front of the humans to protect them, and some of them turned on me.

I was trying to save their lives and they responded by pushing me away and punching me.

I flew up over their heads, out of their reach, and they went right back to staring at the suit.

The suit took a few pounding steps forward, and I noticed a glowing green light in the center of the suit's chest.

I blinked a few times, thinking how mesmerizing the light was.

For a moment, I lost myself in the light, loving the way it was putting a blanket over my mind.

It was chasing away all of the horrible, ugly thoughts racing through my mind.

For once, I was at peace.

Then I heard someone scream and the connection was broken.

And all of those ugly thoughts came rushing back to me.

I looked down to the crowd of people and realized that one of them had been shot.

A woman.

I let out a panicked scream and dove for the same humans that had been pushing me away moments earlier.

Some of them seemed to be kind of dazed, glancing at the woman, then the suit.

"Join hands!" I yelled, landing on the ground in front of them.

I grabbed some guy and made him intangible.

He reached out and grabbed some lady's hand.

Within seconds, the whole crowd was intangible.

Beads of sweat formed on my forehead as I struggled to keep the whole crowd from getting injured.

"Well, well, well. The Ghost Child came to the rescue after all." A familiar voice said.

I turned around as a chill ran down my spine.

Freakshow's red eyes stared back at mine, an evil grin spread across his face.


	11. Chapter 11

"Wh-where did you, I mean how did you..." I stopped stammering and glared at him.

"What do you want?" I demanded.

I hadn't seen him in a long time. Last I heard, he was detained in some high security prison in Oregon.

Freakshow laughed. "That's cute. _You're _in charge."

I rolled my eyes. "Listen, ugly, this week has not been my week. I don't need you messing it up anymore."

I turned to the iron suit. "Who's inside of that?"

He grinned. "That would be my partner, Lydia."

I turned to the humans that still seemed a little dazed.

"And what's wrong with them?" I demanded.

"They're under my control, for as long as I want them to be." He laughed loudly.

"Yeah, because it wasn't hard to defeat you the first time." I sent a blast his way.

"Uh-uh." He raised his staff and I stopped resisting.

The swirling light forced me to go under and I forgot why I was fighting him.

In some small corner of my mind, I was fighting, but I didn't know if it was enough to take control over my mind again.

"Yes, that's it, Phantom. Surrender." Freakshow's laugh jarred me out of the spell.

But only for a few seconds.

I think he saw the resistance in my eyes and that's why his eyebrows drew down.

He pointed the staff at me. "Who is your master?"

My own mouth moved, while my brain screamed for it to stop.

"You are." My voice sounded so strange.

Like it was being jerked out of my mouth without my permission.

The grin that spread across his face sickened me.

"Ah, just what I like to hear."

That corner of my mind that was fighting started to take over and I tried to strengthen it as much as I could.

Unfortunately for me, Freakshow seemed to know exactly when I was strongest, and that's when he would re-set the mind control.

"Do you know what I want you to do?" He asked.

I shook my head.

"I want you to return home and to kill your family." He laughed, then turned to the giant suit that Lydia occupied. "If his ghost-fighting parents are around, what are the odds that you and I will come out unscathed, huh?"

The resistance started forming again, and he was still carrying on a conversation with Lydia.

My right hand curled into a fist and I was able to turn my eyes away from the red light coming from his staff.

I gasped and plummeted a few feet before I caught myself.

Freakshow whirled around and I shielded my eyes from the staff.

"What?" He demanded. "How did you overcome my mind control?"

I spared a glance at him, for less than two seconds, and then my eyes were back on the ground.

But in that second, I was able to send a blast his way and knock him backwards.

He lost grip on the staff and it rolled a few feet away from him.

The blinding red swirl that it emitted had dissipated when Freakshow had released it.

I dove for the staff and almost grabbed it before he got up and snatched it away from me.

I closed my eyes.

"Is this what you want?" He asked, dangling it in front of me.

I could see a faint red light, beneath my lids.

For a moment, I hovered there, then I started backing up.

"Come here!" He yelled.

I turned my back to him and opened my eyes.

Lying on the ground was a shard from a broken car mirror.

I dove for that and used it to locate Freakshow.

The spell didn't work when it was looked at through a mirror.

Once I located Freakshow in the mirror, it was easy to knock him out with a few ghost blasts.

He was unconscious when I got the staff.

I broke it on the road and it shattered into a million pieces.

He couldn't control me anymore.

Glancing over, I saw Lydia headed toward me, crushing cars in the process.

I backed up a few steps and tried to shield my eyes.

The green light in the center of the suit's chest was made for humans.

The red one was made for ghost's.

I literally couldn't win when either one of those lights were on me.

"Look, it's the ghost boy!" Someone yelled.

I looked down to the ground.

Some kids from my high school, including Dash, Kwan and Paulina.

"Ghost boy! Ghost boy! Ghost boy!" They started chanting.

"Oh, great." I muttered, sparing a glance at Lydia.

She had paused, glancing down at the crowd.

Within a few minutes, she started toward me again.

"Apparently, you have the whole town on your side." Her voice sounded almost mechanical.

"Yeah, I do." I glanced down at the crowd too, thankful that I had managed to save them earlier.

That kind of guilt, on top of my 'depression'...I don't know if I could handle that.

I heard Lydia's footsteps, and I looked up at her, avoiding the glowing screen in the center of her chest.

"Why don't you come out of that suit and fight?" I asked.

"Why would I do that?" She asked. "I can crush you in a moment inside this suit."

Well, she had a point.

"A real ghost wouldn't hide inside that hunk of junk." I taunted.

"Watch it, kid." She growled and I knew I was getting to her.

While the crowd continued to chant my fake name, Lydia and I squared off.

She wasn't used to being in a giant iron suit. And when she punched at me, it was almost too easy to dodge her.

I glanced down at Freakshow. He was still unconscious, his staff still broken.

"How'd your partner here get out?" I asked Lydia.

She snarled and threw another punch, which I easily avoided again.

"I'm suspecting that you used the hole in the Ghost Zone." I said. "But how did he get out?"

She swung her giant fist and I ducked.

"Whoa, looks like somebody's out of practice." I grinned.

Lydia let loose with a blood-curdling scream and launched herself from the giant suit.

Gasps could be heard from the crowd, but I wasn't paying attention to them.

Sweat beaded on my forehead.

"You think that you can stop me?" She demanded. "Freakshow and I have been plotting this for weeks!"

She flew at me and I swerved.

"Hmm." I wondered out loud. "I think you were better in the iron suit."

She growled and flew after me.

I sent a ghost blast her way, knocking her onto the ground.

Within seconds she had risen into the air again, ready to fight.

The crowd that had fallen silent earlier, was now chanting my name again.

She looked down at the crowd.

That's when I recognized my moment.

She wasn't paying attention, and that was the perfect opportunity for me.

I flew straight at her and when I collided with her, she gave a squeal.

After a few seconds of struggling, I forced her down onto the ground and sucked her into the Fenton Thermos.

Breathing heavily, I turned toward the crowd that was rushing toward me.

"Inviso-bill! Inviso-bill!" They chanted.

"Great." I muttered, and rose above their heads.

I saw a news truck pull up.

"And that's my cue to go." I said, flying off into the distance.


	12. Chapter 12

"I'm standing in front of a giant suit of armor, where Inviso-bill was spotter earlier today." Tiffany Snow still had a ridiculous smile on her face, despite how close our town had been to destruction.

I was icing the spot on my arm where Vlad had embedded something into my skin.

It didn't hurt yesterday, but today it was on fire.

"Spectators said that they say Inviso-bill battle against this suit of armor, finally convincing it's controller to come out." She said.

On screen, flashed a grainy picture of Lydia.

Within a second, the screen went back to Tiffany's smiling face.

"Spectators said that Inviso-bill beat this creature and contained it in something they couldn't see." Her smile faltered. "He left before I could catch an interview with him."

She cleared her throat. "It is believed that the suit was created by this man."

On screen flashed a picture of Freakshow.

I killed the TV screen and sank back onto my pillows, sighing.

My cell phone vibrated and I flipped it open.

It was a text from Tucker.

"R u watching the news?" He wanted to know.

"Yeah," I replied. "I just turned it off."

I got a text back. "Can Sam and I come over? We should talk."

"Sure." I replied and closed my eyes.

The next thing I knew, Sam was shaking me awake.

I sat upright. "Whoa, what happened?"

"You fell asleep." She said.

"You've been asleep for-"

"Don't." I cut Tucker off.

He laughed, and I smiled.

Wow, a real smile. I told my friends that I was fine.

"What's up?" I asked, stretching my arms above my head.

"What if Freakshow opened the hole in the portal?" Tucker asked. "I mean, obviously they're going to transport him to a new prison. You may want to move and interrogate him now."

I blinked. "Why on earth would Freakshow open the portal?"

Tucker looked to Sam.

"He's not a ghost." I said. "Why would he?"

"I don't know, maybe to mess with you. You know, release all of your enemies?" He questioned.

"Please. If he wanted to release all of my enemies, he should have visited my high school." I said.

Sam laughed and glanced at me.

I looked to Tucker. "What are the odds of it being Freakshow?"

"I guess none." He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

He glanced over to my computer. After they'd left, I smashed the monitor with my ghost blasts.

I swallowed. "I think it was Wulf."

He looked at me. "What?"

At least his attention was away from my computer.

"I think Wulf is the one who opened the portal." I said. "I think someone else manipulated it. But I don't know how I'm going to find the ghost who manipulated it into staying open."

"Any ideas yet?" He asked.

I shook my head. "Not any solid ones. I considered Vlad, but why on earth would he want a hole in the Ghost Zone when he has his own portal?"

"To mess with you?" Sam asked.

I shook my head. "There are easier ways for him to mess with me."

"True, but every time he's messed with you, you've always beaten him. Maybe he thinks if he does this, you won't figure out it's him." She offered.

I shook my head again. "Plasimus isn't scared."

"No, he's not. But he does like to mess with you." Tucker said.

"Of all the things he could do, why would he choose to compromise the Ghost Zone?" I asked.

Tucker shrugged.

"See? It doesn't make sense." I said.

"Why don't we stop with all of the Vlad Plasimus theories?" Sam asked.

"I'm good with that." I replied.

"What else could be the problem?" Tucker asked. "Let's brainstorm, guys."

"Well, obviously, there's Lydia." Sam said.

"Possibly, but why would she force it to stay open? If there are other ghosts coming into Amity Park, Freakshow wouldn't be able to make his plans known. Too many other villains in the area." Tucker said.

"The more ghosts there are, the more opportunities for control." Sam said, leaning back.

I put my head in my hands, thinking.

"Danny?" Sam called.

"Yeah?" I asked, trying to think of anyone or anything that could have torn the hole in the Ghost Zone.

"Are you ok?" She asked, putting her hand on my arm.

I jerked away from her and snapped my head.

"Yeah. Just don't touch me." I said, scooting backward.

She and Tucker shared a glance.

"What?" I asked, drawing my knees up to my chest.

"Nothing." Tucker shook his head. "Why didn't you call us when Freakshow showed it up?"

"What would you guys have done?" I demanded, sending a glare his way.

He flinched. "What?"

I shook my head and stood. "Never mind. What other ideas do you have for the hole?"

"Danny, you know that we do-"

"I don't want to hear it, Tucker!" I yelled, whirling around to glare at him.

He flashes his worried eyes at Sam.

I felt a tremble in my chest and I almost broke down right there.

But I turned my back to them and took even, measured breaths.

"I'm sorry." I whispered.

"Danny, we're just concerned about you." Sam said.

I nodded. "I know."

"We don't mean to push you and to make you angry. But we're just getting scared." She said. "We don't know how to help you, Danny."

I turned around. "Then stop acting like you do."

She sighed and closed her eyes. "Danny, if you'd just talk to som-"

"No. We're not having this conversation." I said.

"Dude, she's right. If you don't talk to someone, this could just get worse." Tucker interjected.

"If you two want to talk about this, you can leave." I said. "I'm not talking about it."

"Why not?" Sam demanded, her eyes opened, eyebrows drawn down.

"Because I don't want to." I replied, and leaned closer to her for effect. "And nobody is going to make me."

She narrowed her eyes and stood. "Fine. Let's talk about the Ghost Zone instead of what's really wrong."

"Oh please." I rolled my eyes and looked at Tucker. "Do you have any ideas?"

He shrugged. "Other than Wulf, no. And if it is him, I don't know who would have manipulated the hole."

"So basically, I'm still at square one, huh?" I asked.

"Well...not really. I mean, at least we've gotten the visual on the hole." He said. "That's something right?"

"Yeah, sure." I replied sarcastically.

Sam's phone rang.

She sighed and dug around inside her backpack for it. She found it and flipped it open. "Hello?"

I couldn't hear the other person the phone, but her shoulders dropped. "No, that's ok. I understand. Keep looking."

She glanced at me. "Yeah, I'll be home in a few minutes."

After that she hung up the phone and shoved it back in her backpack.

"I've gotta go." She said.

"Is everything ok?" I asked, taking a step toward her.

She looked at me and sighed. "It will be."

I nodded and glanced at Tucker. "You might as well head out too, I can't think of any ideas. My brain's fried."

He nodded and stood up.

"Can I talk to Danny alone?" Sam asked him.

"Sure. I'll text you later, dude." He said and closed my door behind him.

"What's up?" I asked, looking into Sam's eyes.

"Danny, I don't know how to help you." She whispered.

I dropped my own voice to a whisper. "You don't have to. I'll be fine."

She wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me into a hug. "I want to. I have to, Danny. It hurts me to see you like this."

Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes.

My voice broke as I replied. "I'm sorry."

She put her hand on the back of my head and ran her fingers through my hair. "I'm so sorry, Danny. You're not alone ok? I'm here."

Tears ran down my face, and I felt so empty.

I felt pathetic for crying. Especially with her there.

"I can't do this, Sam." I pushed her away and looked away from her.

She gently turned my face to her. "You're important to me, ok? Your life is important to me, too."

I wish I could have believed her.

She held me while the tears fell down my face, and while I continued to feel pathetic.

If she was looking for a cry for help, she'd come to the wrong person.

I was never getting any help. I didn't need a stranger to tell me what I already knew.

I was pathetic. I was stronger than this, yet I wouldn't fight it. I was pathetic and I didn't anyone to remind me. I reminded myself.

Daily.


	13. Chapter 13

Author's Note: This chapter is dedicated to RabuneHino who always reads my story and gives me construction criticism. Thanks so much to everyone who reads this story!

She pulled away. "What can I do now to help you?"

"I don't know." I said, sighing. "Stop talking about it, for one thing."

"I won't bury this, Danny." She said.

"You don't have to." I said. "Just please don't bug me about it anymore. If I say I can handle it, I can."

She studied me for a minute and I looked at the ground.

"Fine. But if you need help, you have to go to somebody ok?" She asked.

"I will." I lied.

"Promise?" She asked.

I had already broken so many promises. What did this one matter?

"Promise." I repeated.

She hugged me again, then she left.

Jazz called me for lunch shortly after.

I was hoping that it wouldn't be a dramatic meal like supper was last night.

When I got downstairs, it was just my mom and Jazz at the table.

"Where's dad?" I asked, sitting down.

"Your father is working on a top secret new invention and he can't be bothered." My mom said.

I looked down at my plate, then back at my mom. "It's because of last night, right? It's because of me."

"Why would you think that?" She asked.

I looked back down at my plate. "Because it's true."

She didn't respond and I looked back up at her. "It is, isn't it?"

"No, Danny, it's not." She replied. "He's just busy."

"Sure." I mumbled and shoved the hot noodles and spaghetti sauce into my mouth.

It burned my tongue and throat as it went down, but I didn't care.

The faster I ate this meal, the faster I could go to my room and forget about all of this.

Jazz was already done eating by the time I started.

She glanced at me and mouthed. "Are you ok?"

I nodded. I'd gotten better at lying since this whole 'depression' thing started.

She stood up and took her plate to the sink.

"I'm gonna go upstairs." She announced and exited the room.

I continued to shove the hot food down my throat, faster than normal.

My mom stood up and took her plate to the sink.

But she didn't leave like Jazz did. She returned to the table.

"Did you see that story on the ghost kid?" She asked. "Inviso-bill?"

I nodded. "The one with Fr-…that giant suit of armor?"

'Close one.' I thought.

"Yeah. I didn't watch the whole thing." She shrugged. "I thought it was interesting that a human would work with a ghost. You know the ghost who was inhabiting the giant suit of armor? He must have been desperate."

I nodded. "Probably."

"What I don't get," She started. "Was why Inviso-bill waited so long before he attacked either one of them. I mean, from the security camera's, it looks like he just hovers in the air for about ten minutes."

"He was being controlled. He couldn't move." I said, then almost slapped a hand over my mouth.

I resisted the urge. That would have looked a little suspicious.

My mom looked up at me, her eyes wide. "What? Humans can control ghosts? Where did you hear this?"

"Umm...on the news." I mumbled. "That's what that human's staff was. The one Inviso-bill broke? It was controlling him."

"Wow." She said. "That gives me a brilliant idea."

"Great." I unenthusiastically replied.

"But why didn't he attack the giant suit of armor?" She asked. "That one controls humans."

"Yeah. He was being controlled by that too." I replied, not paying attention. "It was really hard to break that control, almost impossible."

As I realized what I said, I looked up at my mom. "Umm..."

"Where did you hear all of this?" She asked, her eyes bright with excitement.

"On the news?" I replied pathetically.

"He's half human too? I've gotta tell your father this." She said.

I swallowed.

Great. Just what I needed, my parents trying to figure out who the human side of 'Inviso-bill' was.

"I wonder how his parents are handling the news." She said.

My head snapped up, my blood freezing in my veins. "What?"

"I said I wonder how his parents are dealing with it. I mean, if it were my child, I wouldn't want him to keep the ghost powers." She sighed.

"Wh-why not?" I asked, feeling every heartbeat.

She laughed. "Well, ghosts are freaks! Everyone know's that honey. I wouldn't want you or Jazz to have deal with something like that. And, can you imagine the teasing he endures at school?"

I swallowed. "Y-yeah. Guess I never thought of that before."

"And can you imagine what your father would say? Well he'd probably flip out." She grinned.

"Yeah." I replied, the spaghetti sitting like a rock in my stomach.

"Or he'd rip me apart." I said. "Molecule by molecule."

"Exactly." She replied.

She gave me a smile and I felt my stomach drop.

After that, she got up from the table and went downstairs into the basement to tell my father the news about 'Inviso-bill'.

I had just made my life hell on earth.

After a few minutes of feeling sorry for myself, I dumped my spaghetti in the garbage and went upstairs to my bedroom.

I opened up my closet doors and found the pull up bar that my parents had given to me last Christmas.

I hadn't had a need for it until now.

Now, I needed to blow off some steam.

I lengthened it and fixed it in between my closet doorframe.

After I made sure it was secure, I proceeded to pull myself up with it.

It's actually a lot harder to do than it advertisement on the back of the package.

After the first five, I could feel beads of sweat running down my back.

If this is what it took to work off some steam, I would do it. Every day.

Multiple times a day. I just couldn't go on feeling like this. It was too much. Sam was right, I did need help.

And as far as I was concerned, this pull up bar was as therapeutic as I needed at the moment.

I finished a set of fifteen and took a break.

My muscles were already sore, from the fight with Vlad and Skulker the day before yesterday, and from the fight with Freakshow and Lydia this morning.

I shouldn't have been pushing myself like I was, but it drove all thoughts from my brain.

I didn't have to think when I was pushing myself. I could focus on the pain of my muscles and it became easier.

Every hour, I would do another fifteen pull ups. By the time I fell into bed that night, I had done a total of a hundred and sixty five pull ups.

I was going to hate myself in the morning.

But the good news was, I was so tired that I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

And I didn't have a single nightmare.

Sam was crazy, I could handle this on my own.


	14. Chapter 14

I was right. The morning came and I hated myself.

Every inch of my body was aching.

If I had gone just a little bit easier on my body, I wouldn't be in such immense pain.

"Danny!" I heard my father call.

I practically crawled down the stairs.

"Yeah, dad?" I asked, walking into the kitchen.

He was pacing around the kitchen. "When did you hear about Inviso-bill being half-human?"

I shrugged and winced. "I don't know, sometime yesterday."

"If we can discover his human half…we could destroy him once and for all." He grinned.

'Dad, it's me.' I thought. 'I'm Inviso-bill or the Ghost Kid or whatever the hell you want to call me. I'm half-ghost and half-human. I struggle just like every other teenager, actually, probably more considering the ghost part.  
I live in constant fear of you and mom finding out that I'm half-ghost and ripping me apart molecule by molecule. So now that I've come clean with you, please just accept me.'

I looked at him and realized that he never would.

"Good luck." I mumbled and quietly exited the room.

I started for the basement and I ran into Jazz.

"Hey. Where are you going?" She asked.

"The Ghost Zone. I think I may have found a solution to the hole." I lied.

She nodded. "Cool. Let me know if it works."

After that, I went down to the lab, changed into ghost and plunged head first into the Ghost Zone.

Even though Tucker had to help me find the hole the first time, I somehow managed to find it on my own.

When I reached it, I let my hand go through.

Burning pain ran through my arm. I yanked it back, then I slowly put my other arm in.

After a few seconds, I yanked that arm back too.

I then stuck both arms through.

The pain was incredible, and I yanked my arms back through.

My muscles were aching. I needed to go home. I needed to stop feeling like this.

Like the only way that I could ever get better was to hurt myself.

Tears welled up in my eyes, but I blinked them away.

I wouldn't go down that road. Not anymore.

Without a second glance, I flew out away from the hole and out of the Ghost Zone.

Back at home, I phased back into Danny Fenton and I went upstairs to my bedroom.

When I got there, my parents were seated on my bed.

"What's up?" I asked, semi-closing the door.

"Danny, we want to talk to you." My mom said. "And we'd appreciate it if you wouldn't get defensive before we can even talk, ok?"

I hesitated, then nodded. "Ok...what is this about?"

They shared a glance.

"Your mother and I would like you to see a therapist." My father said.

My mouth dropped open. "What? Why?"

"Jazz told us everything." My mom said. "And, frankly, I'm just disappointed that you didn't tell us first."

I hesitated. Was she talking about my ghost powers? Did they know about that? Oh man, I was going to kill Jazz!

"She told you what?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"All about the depression you've been experiencing, and about the way you've been snapping at your friends. Danny, we're just worried about you." My mom said.

I breathed a sigh of relief. So they didn't know about my ghost half.

Although, I was still pretty ticked off at Jazz.

"Why do I have to see someone? I'm managing it fine on my own." I replied.

My mom raised an eyebrow.

I avoided her eyes. "What? I am."

"Daniel." She said.

I sighed. "Guys, I'm ok. I promise."

"Do we need to call your friends?" My dad asked.

I sighed. "No."

"Great." My mom stood. "You have an appointment tomorrow after school."

I groaned. "Do I have to go?"

My mom nodded. "Sorry, you don't have a choice."

She exited my room and my dad followed her out.

Before he left, he turned back toward me.

"Just so you know, son." He began. "There's nothing wrong with needing help."

After he closed the door behind him, I sank down onto my bed and put my head in my hands.

This was a nightmare.

The next day at school, Sam and Tucker were at my locker.

I sighed and braced myself. I'd texted them the night before saying that I had a therapy appointment after school today.

"Danny?" Sam asked. "What made you change your mind?"

I groaned. "My parents."

Her eyebrows went up. "Really? They figured out you're depressed?"

I sent a glare her way and she backed up a few steps. "No. My sister told them."

"Harsh." Tucker said.

I looked at him and nodded. "Yeah."

Sam gave him a weird look.

He shrugged. "What do you think of all this?"

"Are you talking to me?" I asked, cramming my books into my locker.

Tucker nodded. "Yeah."

I shrugged. "I don't know. I think it's ridiculous. I mean, obviously I'm not depressed."

"The test was positive." Sam replied.

I turned around so I could glare at her. "Thanks for reminding me that you and Tucker betrayed my trust and retrieved the browser history."

She shrugged.

"And just so you know, tests can be wrong." I replied, turning my back to her again so I could get my English text book out of my locker.

"Sure, tests *can* be wrong? But was yours? No." She replied.

A low warning growl sounded in my throat.

"Don't growl at me, Danny. You're not a dog." She said.

I clenched my fists, feeling a burning pain radiating through my hands.

Another tell-tale sign of an energy beam forming.

"Danny." Jazz's voice called.

I turned around and glared at her.

She took a step back. "Whoa. Are you ok?"

"I'm peachy." I replied, my arms crossed.

"Danny, you know that I only told mom and dad because I was worried about you, right?" She asked.

"Huh. Didn't seem like you were that worried, Jazz." I replied, still glaring.

"What? No, Danny I was." She replied.

"Really? Jazz, if you were really worried about me, why did you tell our parents? Who you know are only going to make it worse?" I demanded.

"I…" She looked at Tucker and Sam. "I just wanted to help you."

I closed my locker door. "Next time you want to help, don't."

"Danny, lay off of her." Tucker said.

"Fine. You guys think she's right in this argument? Fine." I turned around and started walking toward the exit.

"Danny, where are you going? Class is about to start." Sam called.

I didn't respond as I pushed open the doors.

"Danny!" Jazz's voice sounded closer.

"Leave me alone." I snarled, jumping into the air and changing into ghost. I dropped my backpack on the ground and I left it there.

Taking off like a speeding bullet, I let the wind hit my face at the full 117 miles an hour.

I had to get out of there. School could wait.


	15. Chapter 15

I skipped everything. School, the therapy appointment, everything.

I did absolutely nothing on my day off except fly around.

And occasionally, I fought a ghost off and sucked him into my Fenton Thermos.

When I finally did go home, it was a quarter to seven.

I thought my parents were going to murder me the moment I stepped inside the door.

"Where have you been?" My mom yelled. "Your sister called us and said that you had cut school."

I sighed.

"Do you have any idea how scared we were?" She demanded.

I shrugged.

"You'd better start getting verbal, son." My dad said.

He was using his 'I'm warning you' voice.

"Look, I'm sorry. Ok? It won't happen again." I replied.

"It won't happen again? You're darn right it won't happen again!" My mom yelled. "Do you want to explain to me why you cut school and why you skipped your therapy appointment?"

I didn't respond.

"Daniel, I know that you didn't want to go but we worked really hard to get you an appointment. The therapist is booked all the rest of the week. We were lucky that she could squeeze you in today like she did." She sighed.

"I was busy." I snapped, feeling my anger rising.

"You should have been in school." My dad growled. "No matter how busy you were."

"I couldn't take it in there." I replied. "Everyone was too close."

"What do you mean?" my mom asked.

"Never mind." I replied, narrowing my eyes. "I wouldn't expect you to understand."

My father crossed his arms. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing." I said.

"There's something you're not telling us." My mom said.

The blood froze in my veins.

"Isn't there?" She asked.

I shook my head slowly. "N-no. There's not."

"You're lying." My father interjected.

"No, I'm not." I said. "I just don't feel like talking."

"You're lying." He repeated.

"No, dad, I'm not." I replied. "Guys, come on."

"Tell me the truth, Danny." He said.

I crossed my arms.

"Fine. Then you can have a seat on that couch and you're not moving until you tell us what you're hiding." He said.

My mouth dropped open. "But dad-"

"The only but here is the one that should be planted on that couch. Sit, now." He said.

"I'm not a dog." I said.

"I'm aware of this, Danny. Now sit." He said.

"Mom." I turned to her.

She shook her head. "No, I'm with your father on this one. You're hiding something and I'm getting more and more concerned by the minute."

"Mom, come on." I said.

"No, Daniel. Go sit down." She said.

"Mom, dad, please."

"Unless you're willing to tell us in the next five seconds, your butt better be planted on that couch." My dad said.

"I skipped school because I was tired, ok? Is that what you want to hear?" I asked. "Because I've already said that."

They shared a glance.

"Please, I'll go to therapy tomorrow ok? I just skipped school because I didn't want to deal with anything today, ok? Please believe me."

My mom slowly glanced back to me. "I don't think that's the whole truth, Danny. You're hiding something."

"I'm not hiding anything!" I yelled.

"Don't yell at your mother." My father raised his voice.

"Dad, I-"

"No! That's enough. The only reason you're getting angrier is because you know that there's something that you should fess up to." He replied.

"It's eating away at you, Danny, everyone can see it." My mom interjected.

I glanced between the two of them.

"Just open up." My mom put her hand on my arm.

I pushed her away.

"Daniel-"

"I've been mending a hole in the Ghost Zone." I blurted out.

I was hyperventilating. Why would I say something so stupid? A wave of dizziness rolled through me, and I took a shaky step backwards.

"What?" My mom asked.

My dad blinked.

I took a few deep breaths. "What I mean is..."

"What purpose would going into the Ghost Zone serve a human?" My father asked.

I hung my head. "I don't know. I was being stupid, I didn't mean that."

"Didn't mean which part? The part about you going into the Ghost Zone, or the part about you mending a hole in it?" My dad looked skeptical.

I swallowed and said in a small voice. "Any of it."

"If you're not going to tell us the truth-"

"What I mean is I didn't want any more of my enemies getting out." I said, my hyperventilation reaching its peak.

They stared at me.

"What?" My mom asked. "What are you talking about?"

I couldn't breathe. I was surprised that I could utter the next few words. "I'm Inviso-bill."

My father's face started turning red.

"What?" He asked in a tight voice.

"I'm sorry." I whispered, trying to catch my breath.

"Danny?" My mom asked as the world went black.

"Danny!" My dad yelled.

I felt my head connect with the tile floor before I passed out.

When I woke up, I was lying on the couch.

I sat up. "What…happened?"

Jazz was sitting beside me.

"You passed out." She said.

I covered my face with my hands. "Please tell me that what just happened didn't happen."

"You mean that you told our parents that you're half ghost and that you've been mending a hole in the Ghost Zone? Yeah, that all really happened, Danny." She patted my chest. "Mom and dad will be here in a minute."

"Wait!" I called, panicking. "What do I say? What do I tell them? How do I make them understand, Jazz?"

She sighed. "Just be honest. And be yourself."

"That's something older sisters say to try and encourage us. Now isn't the time, Jazz. Please, tell me what to say." I begged.

"Say what's in your heart, Danny."

"Oh, great. Thanks for nothing." I crossed my arms.

"Look, whatever you imagined yourself saying to them the moment they found out, say that." She said.

"That's not going to work." I said.

"Why not?" She asked.

"Because what I've always imagined myself saying was, 'Please don't rip me apart and examine my remains."

She laughed.

I glared at her.

"Sorry." She said, shrugging. "Mom and dad aren't going to hurt you. You know they aren't like that."

Jazz gave me a smile as she left but it had about as much of an effect as throwing water into the wind.

"Danny?" I heard my parents call.

I steeled myself.

This is where I learned if my parents were angry or disappointed or if they truly did want to rip me apart and burn the pieces.

Well, if the final option was the one they went with, I'd make sure they got me a good urn.

As they came into the room, the looks that were on their faces both terrified and shocked me.

Of all the reactions, I had never expected this one.


	16. Chapter 16

Silent tears streamed down my mom's face, while my dad looked like he was holding some back himself.

"Mom, dad?" I asked.

"Danny, we are so sorry." My mom's voice choked on a sob.

"No, mom, don't cry." I said.

She held up a hand.

My dad started talking then.

"Son, we had no idea what you were going through." He said.

"And all of our talk of harming ghost's probably didn't make you feel safe in your own home." My mom said.

"I just can't believe we never noticed before." My father said, his own voice sounding a little strained.

I looked between the two of them, tears in my own eyes.

"Are you two for real right now?" I whispered.

"Yes, Danny." My mom smiled and started toward me.

I unconsciously took a step back.

She slowly reached out and put a hand on my shoulder.

I let her touch me and I even took a step closer to her.

"You should know, that we are never going to hurt you. And we will never let harm come to you." She said.

I let out a relieved sigh.

"You don't know how good it is to hear you say that." I whispered.

She pulled me into a hug and I relaxed into her arms.

After a minute, the tears were flowing freely down my face.

My father came over to us and wrapped us into his arms.

The tears that rolled down my face weren't tears of sadness or necessarily tears of happiness.

Most likely, they were tears of relief.

My parents did love me. And they weren't going to destroy me because of what I was.

I was safe in my own home again, I always had been.

And now I always will be.

My phone rang, and I rolled over and grabbed it off my nightstand.

Sam was calling me.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Danny, I haven't heard from you all day. Why do you insist on scaring the hell out of me?" She demanded.

I laughed.

She fell silent.

"How are you? Are you ok?" She finally asked.

"I'm…" I struggled for a second to find the right words.

"…a little better." I decided.

"Really? Jazz told us that you skipped therapy appointment." She said.

"I did." I replied.

"Well…what changed?" She asked. "You *sound* better."

I let out a breath. "I told my parents."

"About your depression? I thought Jazz did that yesterday." She replied.

"No, that's not what I mean." I said. "I told them the truth. I told them who I am."

There was dead silence on the other end of the line.

"Sam?"

"Yeah, I'm here." She said. "I—what did they say?"

"Well they cried at first. They were pretty upset with themselves that they had threatened me without realizing it."

"Wow."

"Yeah, but, Sam...they accepted me. They didn't threaten to tear me apart or remove my ghost half. They were just my parents." I said.

"Wow, that's amazing, Danny. I'm really happy for you." She said. "Does this mean no more hiding?"

"From my parents? No. The rest of the town, yeah." I said.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." She said.

"Yeah." I mumbled, stretching out onto my bed.

"Did you tell Tucker yet?" She asked.

"Nope." I replied. "I'm kind of basking in the knowledge that I'm safe in my own home again."

Sam laughed. "You were always safe."

"Really? 'Jack let's rip Inviso-bill apart molecule by molecule." I replied.

She laughed. "Ok, so maybe you were just mostly safe."

I laughed.

"Thanks, Sam." I said.

"For what?" She asked.

"For being patient with me. I know that I've been a mess lately. I can't have been the easiest person to get along with lately, I know that."

She gave a quiet laugh. "Well you're almost always easy to get along with."

"So when I'm not?" I asked.

"I bear through it." She replied.

I laughed. "Well, thanks for bearing through it then."

"You're welcome." She replied.

"I think I'm going to go downstairs and talk to my parents." I said.

"OK." She said. "One more question though."

"Ok, shoot." I said.

"How did you tell them that you're half ghost? Like, what were your words?"

"I said, 'I'm Inviso-bill' then I promptly passed out." I replied.

"Did you really?" She asked.

"Yeah, revealing your secret to the people who may or may not want to kill you would put you under a little bit of stress. So I'm pretty sure that my reaction was completely normal." I laughed.

She laughed too. "Yeah, I guess."

"How about I call you later with the rest of the story?" I asked.

"That'd be cool." She replied.

I hung up with her and went downstairs to tell my parents everything Inviso-bill, or rather, *I* could do.

When I went downstairs my parents were sitting on the couch, facing each other, and talking in low voices.

"Hey, mom? Dad?" I asked.

They looked up.

"Yes?" My mom asked.

I shrugged and awkwardly crossed my arms. "I was just wondering if you guys had any questions about…"

For some reason, I couldn't bring myself to say my ghost-half.

"The other part of who I am." I finished lamely.

They looked at each other.

My father nodded. "When did this happen?"

"Remember the day you guys finished the ghost portal?" I asked. "And you guys thought that it wasn't finished because it didn't work? So you went back to the blue prints to make sure you did it right?"

They nodded.

"Yeah, while you were looking at the blueprints, my friend Sam convinced me to go inside." I said.

"And you listened to her?" My mom asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes. And to answer the question that I'm sure is on the tip of your tongue, if she asked me to jump off a cliff, no I wouldn't." I replied.

They laughed and I smiled.

"You guys don't know how scared I was of your reaction." I said. "I was terrified that you were going to want to destroy the other half of me."

"Well, we haven't ruled it out." My father said. He was smiling though, so I assumed he was kidding.

I gave a nervous laugh. "Yeah…"

"What kind of powers do you have?" My mom asked. "Can your human half do the same things your ghost half can?"

"How long did it take to master these powers?" My dad asked.

I glanced between the two of them. "Whoa, hang on a second." I looked at my mom.

"I possess invisibility, intangibility, ghost energy, flight, agility, super-strength, a ghostly wail and ice powers." I said.

I turned to my dad. "And it took me months to master."

He nodded.

"Do you think you could…" My mom looked at my dad, then slowly turned back to me. "Show these powers to us?"

I felt the breath catch in my throat. "Sh-show them? I don't usually just play around them. I only use them to fight and to practice."

They didn't say anything.

I sighed and whispered. "Goin' Ghost."

For some reason, saying it out loud in front of my parents felt weird.

Well, if they weren't going to burn me earlier, I could trust them now, right?

Maybe not…

What had I gotten myself into?


	17. Chapter 17

My parents stared at the black and gray of my ghost suit.

I looked down at the floor suddenly feeling self-concious.

I cleared my throat, eyes still on the floor. "Ok, in no order here they are."

Within a split-second, I was invisible.

"Invisibility." I said.

My dad blinked. "Whoa."

I went back to normal. "Intangibility." I shoved my arm through my stomach and extracted a cookie.

I returned to normal. "Guess it hasn't digested yet."

My mom looked disgusted. My dad looked amazed.

"Ice powers," I said, aiming the blast at the lamp.

"Ghost ray." I said, using it to break the ice around the lamp along with destroying the cookie.

"Flight." I said and flew around the room, landing on the edge of the mantel. "And agility."

I walked along the edge for a second.

"Be careful," My mom whispered.

I jumped off the mantel and hovered in the air. "Super strength." I glanced at my dad, then decided not to use him as an example.

That could possibly offend him, and I need him on my good side right now.

I picked up the couch, sweat beading onto my forehead.

The two of them tucked their legs up onto the couch.

"That's enough, son, put us down." My dad looked ill.

I carefully set the couch back down onto the ground and took a breath.

"And that's it." I dropped back onto the ground and changed back into my human form.

"You mentioned another power." My mom tapped her chin.

"Yeah, the Ghostly Wail." I replied. "I can't do that one, not in here. Not unless you have a desire to repaint the walls."

They blinked.

"The Ghostly Wail can peel paint off of walls, and it can physically move people and objects." I said.

My mom raised her eyebrows. "Really?"

I nodded. "I don't do that often though because it requires a lot of practice, a lot of concentration, and a lot of strength."

"I may have super strength." I said. "But not as much as that power needs."

They looked at each other.

"Think I'm a freak, yet?" I asked.

My mom shook her head. "You know that we don't think you're a freak."

I shrugged. "You called me one the other day."

"What? When?" She asked.

"Well, you called Inviso-bill one the other day." I shrugged. "It's not a big deal, it's just...it happens."

She stood. "No, Danny, it is a big deal. I shouldn't have called him-or you-what I did."

"It's ok." I replied.

My dad stood up. "Why didn't you ever tell us? I mean, I know that we fight ghosts, Danny, but did you honestly think that we would fight you?"

"Yeah, dad. That's exactly what I thought." I replied. "I thought actually you wouldn't waste your time fighting me. I thought you would just destroy me."

"Sweetie, we wouldn't harm a hair on your head. And we won't let anyone else harm you ever again." She said, putting her hands on my shoulders.

"Mom, I still have to fight." I said.

"Fight who?" She asked.

"You saw the news. That human, Freakshow, is still out there somewhere. I saw a story last on the internet that he'd broken out of jail again." I replied.

My mom and dad exchanged glances.

I gave a frustrated sigh. "You don't understand. Just because you guys know now doesn't mean that I can stop fighting ghosts. I started using my powers for good. I can't just abandon the town."

I glanced to the floor and then back at them. "Amity Park needs a hero to protect the town. Unfortunately, that hero is me."

"Danny, I don't really feel comfortable with you-"

"You're going to have to get comfortable, mom. I can't turn my back on my town." I said.

They fell silent.

My mom gave a sigh.

"I'm sorry." I said. "But you both know that I'm right. If you had these powers, wouldn't you use them for the good of the town?"

"Well actually, I would probably use them to scare people, but that's just me." My dad said.

My mom gave him a look as I laughed.

"Nice one, dad." I replied.

He grinned and gave me a thumbs up.

His grin faded when he saw my mom glaring at him.

"Sorry." He said to her.

She turned back to me. "You have every right to be selfish with your powers. And no one is going to get mad at you or blame you if you don't always help out."

I nodded. "I know mom. Thanks."

My mom gave a relieved sigh. "Well, we should tell your sister huh? You up for explaining it all over again?"

"Well, actually, guys…she already knows." I shrugged. "Sorry."

"You told her before us?" My mom asked.

"Well, no. She was following me without realizing that I was trying to go ghost. I didn't even realize that she knew until a few months after she found out." I said.

"Wow." My mom replied.

"Yeah," I gave a nervous laugh.

"I suspect your other friend knows too, then? What's his name? Tucker?" He asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, it's Tucker. And yeah he knows. I can't hide things like that from one of my best friends."

"But apparently hiding it from your parents is easy." My mom said.

I laughed. "Actually, mom, do you remember that camping trip where we ended up staying at Vlad's house?"

My dad gave her a look.

She laughed nervously. "Yeah, umm…sweetie? I thought we agreed we would never talk about this again."

I laughed. "Sorry. Do you remember when you put that Spector Deflecter on me?"

She put a hand to her forehead and squeezed her eyes closed. "Oh my gosh!"

"It's ok." I said. "My powers were shorted out almost the whole time I was wearing it though, so it really didn't affect me."

"Well, is there anything else we should know?" My dad asked.

I bit the inside of my lip.

"Come on," He urged. "You've already told us almost everything else."

"Actually, no. I haven't, I'm not even close to telling you guys everything." I said, laughing slightly.

I couldn't believe they were being this calm about everything.

"Ok, hit us with it. What else you got?" My mom asked.

"You guys know your old college buddy? Vlad?" I asked.

They nodded.

"Yeah…the accident in college caused him to have the same powers I do. Vlad isn't just human, he's also a ghost." I replied.


	18. Chapter 18

My mom's mouth dropped open. "What?"

"Yeah, and he's kind of my arch-enemy." I replied.

"Vlad?" My dad asked. "Surely not."

I nodded. "Yeah, sorry dad. I know that he was your friend and all, but he tried to kill me."

"He what?" My mom's face turned red.

My dad cracked his knuckles.

"Umm, multiple times." I said. "You remember your high school reunion in Wisconsin?"

My mom closed her eyes.

"Yeah, he tried to kill me there. Well, actually, he tried to kill dad, but I'm sure I was somewhere on his hit list."

"How many other times have we been ignorant of your safety?" My dad asked.

"Uhh, possibly about every time I walked in the door? You guys are ghost hunters you know." I winked and they laughed.

I felt the tension ease and I relaxed. "So you guys don't want to take away this half of me?"

My dad shook his head but my mom looked torn.

"Every time a ghost comes, you throw yourself into harm's way." My mom said.

"Just so I can protect the town." I replied. "If I don't help out Amity Park who will?"

"Other people." My mom said.

I was surprised when I saw my dad giving her the same look I was.

"You agree with me?" I asked him.

He turned to me. "With you risking your life to save the town?"

His eyes narrowed. "Not for a second. But I do agree that if you don't help out, no one else will get off their lazy butts and do it!"

I laughed. "Great."

The sound of the TV startled me.

It had been on the entire time I'd been showing my parents what I was capable of.

I guess I had been paying so much attention to their reactions that I never even heard the TV playing.

"We bring you an update from City Hall regarding this man-" A picture of Freakshow flashed across the screen and walked over to the TV, turning the volume up.

The scene changed back to Tiffany Snow standing in front of City Hall.

"Here is the giant this man, Freakshow, constructed. They have been on a rampage through Amity Park all through this evening." She said.

I put a hand to my forehead as my ghost sense went off.

I'd been so busy trying to show them my powers and making sure that they accepted me that I missed the fact that Freakshow was only about three miles from me.

"He has made many demands including: money, power, respect and workers." She said sighing. "He has made one long standing demand. He wants Danny Phantom to meet him here in City Hall and he will abandon the attack."

Her face hardened. "Whoever you are, wherever you are Danny Phantom…we beg to show up."

I swallowed and killed the power to the TV. I could hear my parents behind me. My mom was holding her breath and my dad was taking measured breaths.

I turned around and took a deep breath of my own. "I have to go help."

"Danny, like I said earlier. You don't have to be the hero all the time. This is one of those times." My mom said.

Her eyes were begging me to say that I wouldn't help, to say that I would sit this one out.

I clenched my fists. "I can't mom. I have to."

With that, I phased into my ghost form and flew up out through the ceiling, headed toward City Hall.

It was easy to see the destruction as I got closer to my destination.

The wind and rain did little to deter me. The lighting that cracked the sky in half made me a little cautious but every time I saw the destruction lying all over Amity Park, nothing else mattered.

I wanted revenge on him for what he had done to my town.

The town that I had tried so hard to protect was almost completely destroyed.

My high school? Rubble.

The old brick houses our city had fought to keep? Crumbled.

The dinosaur-old movie theater Tucker and I had watched countless movies in together? Destroyed.

My heart ached as I saw City Hall in the same manner. Crumbled bricks and cement were strewn all over the street and through the windshields of cars.

Blood boiled in my veins and I struggled to keep my temper in check.

I flew toward Freakshow, who was standing on the top of the giant suit of armor.

"Why hello again." He greeted me, flashing me a smile that oozed evil.

I responded with a snarl. "What do you want?"

"Total control over the world, but that can take a backseat to my latest plan." He said.

I rolled my eyes. "And what might be your latest plan?"

"Uh-uh, not yet. First you need to do something for me." He replied, flashing a blinding red light at me.

I suddenly found myself unable to move or resist.

"Earlier, I gave you a command. Do you remember what it was?" He demanded.

My voice came out from my throat against my will.

"Yes. You told me to destroy my family." I said in a monotone.

"Good, good. You're an excellent minion. I command you to do just that." His grin set my teeth on edge, but I could hardly resist.

There was no small corner in my mind where I was resisting. I was totally under his control.

He grinned at me. "Now."

My body turned around and when I looked at the ground, my parents were standing on the ground below me.

My hands threw blasts their way and I couldn't stop myself.

"Danny!" My dad yelled.

I tried to send them a subliminal message but it was pretty obvious that they didn't get it.

I was completely and utterly under Freakshow's control.

My parents were dodging my ghost blasts and I was doing my best to avoid them.

But everywhere I didn't want a blast to land, it landed.

One knocked my dad off his feet, and I paused for a second.

Freakshow noticed this and he strengthened the control on me.

Whatever he had done to the staff, however he repaired it, it made it so much stronger.

I could no longer resist him.

"Yes, obey me minion." He said.

I continued to throw blasts at my parents.

My dad crawled behind a car for safety.

"Danny, you don't have to do this." My mom said. "Find the will to resist."

Her words meant nothing to me.

Somewhere inside of me, I knew that those words should mean more to me, but they didn't.

I threw blast after blast, something inside of me hoping for them to dodge my attacks.

"Danny!" Sam's voice rang out.

My eyes left my targets and glanced over where the voice had come from.

Sam was waving her arm her arms to get my attention.

I blinked through the rain as a loud thunder-clap drowned out her words.

A familiar sensation washed over me and I lost control again.

My eyes went right back to my parents and my hands resumed throwing blasts at them.

"Danny!" Sam hollered.

My eyes started to stray toward her, but only for a second. I went right back to my assault.

"Danny, listen to me!" She yelled again.

Blast after blast rained down upon my parents.

"You don't have to do this. You can fight him, Danny!" She yelled over the thunder. "You're the only one who can resist his control!"

Her words meant nothing to me...only...they did mean something.

Deep inside of myself, I knew that she was right. I could fight him. But then another thought followed quickly.

Why would I? How did I know that my parents reaction to my ghost powers wasn't all a big show? How did I know that they were truly going to let me live my life?

My mom wasn't aiming her weapons at me, she was aiming them above my head.

I slowly turned around and saw Freakshow standing above me, on top of the suit of iron.

He was talking to Lydia in a low voice.

When he saw that I was looking back at him, his expression darkened.

He raised his staff and I fell back under his control, turning around almost instantly.

"Do as you were commanded. Finish them!" He yelled.

I waited until my parents were unprotected and I shot a fatal blow their way.

"No, Danny, don't!" Sam screamed.

Her scream snapped me out of my trance, but it was too late to save them.

The blast was headed right at them.


	19. Chapter 19

Like a lighting bolt, out of nowhere, my sister sprang into action, a ghost shield blasting out from her chest.

She was wearing the Fenton Peeler, and the expression on her face could only be described as determination.

The shield worked like a charm, protecting my parents.

I dove for them, to tell them that Freakshow was controlling me.

Just as I reached them, my whole body shuttered and I didn't remember why I wanted to save them.

They never cared about me. All they wanted was for this battle to end my life.

But instead, it would end theirs.

I started for them again, ready to attack.

"Danny, find the will!" Sam yelled. "You can do this, Danny!"

The thunder-clap shook my whole body, but I stayed where I was, raining down blasts upon them.

"Danny, don't fight them. Fight Freakshow!" She yelled. "You have the strength! He's the one you're mad at. Fight him!"

I turned around but Freakshow had a firm grip on his staff, staring me down.

I struggled against him, feeling Sam's words resound in my head.

I could fight him...but why I felt the need to, I didn't understand.

My instincts told me to fight him. And considering that my instincts had saved my butt on more than one occasion, I decided it was safe to trust them.

I resisted for as long as I could, aiming a few blasts at him.

But the resistance only lasted a couple of seconds. He gained control over me again quite easily.

"Don't you see, Ghost Child? I am ultimately more challenging than any of other your foes. Haven't you learned anything? Humans are far more intelligent than any old half-ghost." He grinned.

"Umm, excuse me. But I hope you don't mind if I disagree." Tucker said.

He was standing on what was left of the roof of City Hall.

"Tucker, don't! He'll-" My protests died on my lips as soon as Freakshow flashed the staff toward me.

"Silence, minion!" He commanded.

Lighting zigzagged across the sky and Tucker looked a little sick.

"I won't let you do this to my friend." He said. "And considering that you think humans are more intelligent, I'd just like to say. Welcome to the technology age."

For a split second, nothing happened. Then I heard Lydia scream and she abandoned her post of the commander of the iron beast.

Freakshow looked at her. "What are you doing? Get back in there and command this hunk of metal."

"It attacked me." She said, shivering in the rain. "I can't go back in there."

Freakshow gave her a look.

Then the giant metal suit took a step and Freakshow swayed.

His looked green again and he tried to jump onto the roof with Tucker.

"Uh-uh." Tucker said and the suit moved further away from the roof.

"How are you commanding this?" Freakshow demanded.

"Technology is a beautiful thing." Tucker grinned.

The giant carried Freakshow further and further away from the crumbled remains of City Hall.

"Ghost Child, get him!" Freakshow commanded me.

I tried to resist.

"Obey me!" He hissed.

I flew toward Tucker.

Sam gasped.

"Tucker, watch out!" She screamed.

"Dude, I'm on your side, remember?" Tucker said to me.

I scooped him into my arms and carried him away from the rooftop.

"Tucker, he's still under Freakshow's control. You have to convince him that you're on his side !" Sam yelled.

"How?" Tucker demanded, struggling against me.

"You want down?" I asked, my eyes meeting his.

"No." He grabbed my shirt. "Don't drop me, Danny."

"Why not? Wouldn't you like to become a permanent stain on the road?" I demanded.

"No, Danny. I don't. And if you think about, you don't want that either." He said.

I didn't respond. What was he talking about?

"Danny, think. You and I are best friends." He said.

"You're nothing to me." I said.

"No. You're my best friend. We do everything together, remember?" He asked.

I blinked.

"In the sixth grade, you and I played a prank on the coach and our parents grounded us from seeing each other." He said.

That sounded so familiar.

"And to get around that rule, we would meet up in the park and hide out in the giant green tunnel. In there, we would plan out future pranks for when our parents would let us see each other again." He said.

I closed my eyes for a second and felt almost normal.

I groaned and opened them again. "Tucker?"

A smile stretched across his face. "Hey buddy."

"Wh-what's going on?" I asked, swiveling my head toward the sounds of battle.

"No, dude. Listen to me. Look at me." He said.

I turned back toward him.

"Freakshow's down there. He's been controlling you and you've been trying to resist. You just know broke free." He said.

"Really?" I asked. "That sounds…right."

"Yeah. Now, would you mind setting me down onto the ground?" He asked.

I laughed. "Sure thing." I flew down onto the ground and set him down. "I have to get back into the battle."

He shook his head. "You can't! He'll control you again."

"I can't just abandon my family and my friends." I said. "I don't have a choice."

"You do, Danny. Please?" He begged.

"I have to go." I squeezed his shoulder. "I'm coming back though."

"Promise?" He asked.

"Promise." I replied.

I took off into the sky and raced toward the battle.

"Danny, stay back!" Sam yelled.

"I can handle this." I hollered back.

Both her and my parents didn't look convinced.

I sent blasts toward Freakshow, trying to knock him off the suit of armor.

"You can't defeat me, ghost!" He yelled. "Not while I hold this staff!"

He aimed the staff at me and I shielded my eyes.

"Get down!" Jazz yelled.

My parents, Tucker, Jazz and Sam all dropped to the ground, covering their heads.

I followed suit and heard a crack of thunder so loud, my whole body shook.

My ears were ringing as another clap rolled through.

When I looked up, the giant suit of armor was on fire, and Freakshow was lying on the ground.

Smoke streamed from him and I looked at my parents.

"What just happened?" I asked.

"That suit of armor is one gigantic lighting attraction." My mom said.

"Yeah, apparently, he thought that his staff would protect him." Jazz said.

I laughed, feeling relief flood through me.

My parents gathered my sister and me into a hug. "We're safe." My dad whispered.

"We're all safe." My mom said.

Another clap of thunder sounded and we started for the Fenton RV.

I took Sam's hand, and looked at Tucker. "Come on, guys. Let's go to my house."


	20. Chapter 20

Author's Note: Well readers, this is the final chapter. I had a blast writing this and I'm glad that so many of you have responded positively. Thanks for reading and reviewing. I have another Danny Phantom story coming up so be on the look-out for that. In the meantime, enjoy this last chapter and please let me know what you think in the reviews section.

Back at my house, the six of us sat around the kitchen table talking.

After we had been talking for about an hour, I finally worked up the courage to ask my parents the question I'd been wondering all night.

"So, how did it feel to fight alongside the person you thought you hated?" I asked.

My dad gave a nervous laugh. "It was still a little strange, but you know, I know it's you."

I looked at my mom.

She had fallen silent.

"Mom?" I asked.

"I don't think it's a good idea for you to keep these powers. How many times have we come close to losing you?" She asked, looking at me.

I shrugged.

"Quite a lot, Mrs. Fenton." Tucker said.

Sam elbowed him and gave him a look.

"Sorry..." He mumbled.

"What Tucker means," I started. "Is-"

"That Danny's got a good head on his shoulders, and when he knows that he can't handle something, he gets the help he needs." Sam said.

My mom raised an eyebrow. "You two help him out?"

"As much as we can." Sam replied.

I looked at her and mouthed, 'Thank you.'

She glanced at me and gave me a wink.

"And besides," I said, turning my eyes back to my parents. "I've made some allies with different ghosts."

"Really?" My dad raised an eyebrow. "There are other...I don't know what to call them, good ghosts?"

I laughed. "Allies are what I call them, and yes there are."

"Can we have names?" My mom asked.

"Umm..." I glanced at my friends.

"How about we do the enemies instead? They're easier to remember." Tucker suggested.

I laughed and added. "And there's more of them."

"Ok, start with the enemies." My dad laughed.

"Well of course you know Vlad." I said.

My dad's face darkened, and his eyes narrowed.

I turned to my sister. "Do you remember that singer you liked so much, Ember McClain?"

My sister nodded. "Yeah, she was awesome."

"Yeah, sorry. Not to burst your bubble or anything, but she was a ghost too." I said.

"Dang." She replied. "I really liked her music."

Tucker laughed. "I did too."

"Tell them about Skulker." Sam nudged me.

"Oh yeah," I said turning back to my parents. "There's this hunter who's been after me for quite some time now. He's the Ghost Zone's greatest hunter."

"By human standards, is he any good?" My mom asked.

"At hunting...I guess. But as far as catching his prey, not really." I said.

"Ooh, have you told them about Klemper yet?" Tucker asked.

I laughed and put a hand to my forehead. "No, I haven't. Why don't you tell them?"

Tucker had my sister and my parents attention as he told them how I was trying to map out the Ghost Zone and Klemper kept begging me to be his friend.

He told the story with such animation and liveliness, he drew everybody into the story.

I reached for Sam's hand under the table.

She turned to me and I winked.

"Thanks for not giving up on me." I whispered. "When I was under Freakshow's control, I didn't think that I could fight him."

"You're strong, Danny." She said. "You would have found a way."

I squeezed her hand. "Maybe so. But it was your words that brought me. It was your words that reminded me that I didn't have to surrender."

Sam gave me a small smile.

"So thank you. For not giving up on me tonight…and these past few weeks." I looked to the ground, then back at her. "I know that I was horrible to you and Tucker sometimes. I didn't mean any of it."

She squeezed my hand back. "It's ok. It really wasn't you talking, was it?"

I shook my head. "Not really. It was more the depression than anything."

She smiled. "But you're back now. Your parents acceptance pulled you out."

"Not just that. But knowing that you weren't going to leave me, regardless of how bad everything got...well, that really helped me, Sam." I glanced back at my parents and my sister who were still riveted by Tucker's story.

I stood up and motioned for Sam to follow me.

My parents eyes watched the two of us exit the room and as we started toward the stairs, I heard a break in conversation.

"Remember, Danny." My dad called. "The hero always gets the girl."

I felt myself blush and I saw the same expression on Sam's face.

Downstairs my family and Tucker laughed and I led Sam the rest of the way up the stairs.

When we got into my bedroom, I took her hand. "I think that I'm really starting to like you, Sam Manson."

"Starting?" She asked, grinning.

I laughed. "Ok, I've always liked you."

Her gaze flashed to the floor, then back at me. Her beautiful eyes were framed by dark eyelashes.

I put my hand on the side of her face. "But never like this."

She pulled my closer and our lips met.

When I pulled away, I rested my head against her forehead.

"I think I'm starting to like you too, Danny Fenton." She said.

I laughed. "Good."

"Tucker will never let us hear the end of this." She said.

"Yeah, but who cares right now?" I asked, my lips meeting hers again.

She pulled away this time. "Danny, I have to get home. It's midnight. My parents are going to freak."

"My parents are already freaked out enough by my ghost powers. I don't think being out late is going to freak them out." I laughed.

She raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"Come on, I'll fly you home." I said, changing into Danny Phantom.

She placed her hand over the D on my chest. "That sounds perfect."

I lifted her into my arms and dove out my bedroom window.

On the way to her house, seeing the destruction all over the city still broke my heart.

But having Sam wrap her arms around my neck soothed me. I didn't feel the need to get revenge on whoever had done this to my town.

Right now, all I cared about was having Sam in my arms.

I said goodnight to her on her balcony and I kissed her goodbye, promising that I'd see her tomorrow.

When I got into bed that night, nothing was scary any longer. I didn't wish for this to be the last night I was alive.

I no longer wished that I was normal. My parents accepted both sides of who I am.

And now, my best friend turned girlfriend, was waiting to see me tomorrow.

I went to sleep with a smile on my face for the first time in weeks.

Yeah, I was pretty sure that everything was going to be all right.


End file.
